Spring 1998 - Norman Rockwell Museum

5Framed, SaturdayEvening Post,March 2, 1946,cover,whereaboutsunknown.posed for, and anyone whothinks he has an originalRockwell painting might becalling Linda today. Every itemin Norman Rockwell's studio isunder the care of this department;in addition, museumarchival exhibits, which are verypopular with the public, areorganized from here. If youshould happen to meet someonewith a magnifying glass in onehand examining a vintagephotograph while referencingthe Definitive Catalogue, youprobably have just seen Linda.We'll go out the library door,but please be careful not tobump into the rolling carts inthe hallway. The warehouse,staffed by Allen Bell and EdMcHugh, is a busy center thatreplenishes the stocks in thestore, receives shipments,circulates the inter-office mailand processes the many printrequests received through thepost and via e-mail. Right nowthey are loading new items totake upstairs to the museumstore and stacking packages totake to the post office. Theyhave to be out of the way beforeopening time, as visitors havebeen known to want to buyitems right off the carts!Before we proceed up the stairs,have a quick look into theclassrooms. On weekends andholidays, these rooms are themost exciting place to be. Createa drawing, make a puppet, buildwith clay, fold paper animals,and above all learn and have funwith Melinda Georgeson,manager of youth services. Ifyou see an artist going down thehall carrying pots of paint wholooks like she is having the besttime, it's Melinda.Maud Ayson, associatedirector for education andprogram, oversees the museum'spublic and education programs,and, with her staff, plans theseminars attended by teachersfrom all over the country. Also,Maud is in charge of the teamthat meets daily with our public.She scoots between her downstairsoffice and the upstairsgalleries checking to makecertain that everything is runningsmoothly. If you think youhave seen Maud, you are probablymistaken, unless you aremoving very quickly!We are upstairs at the museumnow and still have time topop into the museum storebefore it opens. Jo AnnLosinger, director of marketing,is examining some new itemsselected to appeal to our visitors,and is looking over the collectionof signed prints thatNorman Rockwell left for us toraise funds for art acquisition.The store windows have justbeen artfully decorated for theseason. The entire area is sobeautifully arranged that it is nowonder that this is one of themost popular areas of themuseum for visitors who want totake a memory home. You willfind Rockwell prints, books, T­shirts, children's art supplies,and even NR's favorite oatmealcookies.Sara Andenmatten, Josie Ellisand the store staff advise andcare for our visitors. But, pleasedo not peek behind the counterbecause you just might find arow of shoes on the bottomshelf! At the end of a hectic day,our sales staff still have smilingfaces but often very tired toes asthey close up for the day.We have to hurry because I hearthe buses coming into theparking lot. We expect 20 bustours to arrive today, in additionto our individual guests. Ourvisitor services assistants, frontdesk personnel and guides maybe greeting over 1,500 peopletoday. Bus tours are arrangedand coordinated with JosephAubert, Jane Salvatore, AbigailDiamant and Kim Conley, butoccasionally an unexpected tourarrives and everyone has to beon the alert. At such times, extragallery tours are added to theregular hourly ones, and to keepthe flow of visitors movingsmoothly, some groups areasked to visit the studio first.Flexibility is the rule of the day.The grandfather clock in thehall is ringing ten o'clock andthe museum is ready to open.Let's slip out the terrace doorand stroll over the beautifulgrounds to Linwood House,where the administration officesare located.