Spring 1998 - Norman Rockwell Museum

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6On the ground floor ofLinwood we find Jean Drees, ourpersonnel manager, who notonly takes care of our museumstaff, but also writes the in-housenewsletter The Gossips, whichkeeps us informed on thecomings and goings of the staff.Jean is an exampleof the spirit of theentire museumfamily in that herduties go beyondthe human resourcearea tolending a hand tomany other depart- ai~ments. ~Phil Deely,associate director ~of external relations,wears manyhats. Today, inaddition to polishinga grant that he §uis writing, he hasan appointment todiscuss plannedgiving with aprospective donorand is finalizing theannual fun andfund raising event.His assistant Suzy Sheridan isoverseeing menu, seating arrangements,and invitations for abenefit dinner. Everyone withextra time will be helping out.Martin Terrien, associatedirector for finance and administration,keeps the black inkflowing as he oversees thebudget, while Sherida Lincoln,our bookkeeper, monitorsmyriad and minute accountingdetails. Priscilla Ethredge, whotakes care of our museummembers, drops off her membershipreceipts to Sherida fordeposit in the bank.I now want to introduce youto Bea Snyder, manager ofpublic affairs and membership. for a few trustees. Awaiting myAhh, she's not there-well, she is follow-up are e-mail messages,probably at a Berkshire Visitors faxes, phone calls and today'sBureau meeting, or maybe she is post. A quick review of thein Boston today with the MassachusettsOffice of Travel and upcoming board, staff andcalendar shows a variety ofTourism. Perhaps her assistant community meetings, withSally Underwood-Miller has a travel plans in the works for theinternationalexhibit in Japan.Oh yes, did Imention the paperdue tomorrow formy MBA class?And so, althoughthe scene outsidemy window beckonsfor a briskstroll along the LilaBerle River Walk,perhaps I shouldleave you and getback to work.Please stay andvisit the galleries,Norman Rockwell'sstudio, and watchthe video N.R.narrated. We closeat five o'clock, atTired Sales Girl on Christmas Eve, oil on canvas, least for the dailySaturday Evening Post, December 27, 1947, cover. activities. But domoment, if she is not on thephone with ABC or touring thegrounds with two internationalreporters.The third floor is home toour telephone receptionistLaura Tota and customerservice staff, Mary Dawson,Ellen Mazzer, and StephanieLeach. A beehive of activitycontinues apace here in thiscenter of telephone communicationwith our world-wideaudience.Dash back down the stairs withme to the second floor. I'mdelighted to invite you into myoffice, where my secretary AnnSterlin is setting up a light lunchcome back at 6:00because Stephanie Plunkett,manager of adult services, hasplanned a storytelling hour forthis evening. It will be a patchworkof Irish folk tales lyricallytold to a background of harpmusic. You will be delightfullyentertained with cider, song andstories. Introduce yourself toStephanie as she has greatknowledge of Rockwell's workand the field of illustration thatshe would love to share with you.And when the evening is over,our caring facilities staff, DukeShufelt, Dean Foster and MarkCarey, will turn out the lightsand let the paintings rest for thenight.
7Changes and Challenges:Rockwell in the 1930sMaureen Hart Hennessey, CuratorPeople ReadingStock Exchange(The CommonTouch), oil oncanvas, SaturdayEvening Post,January 18, 1930,cover.THE 1930S WERE A TIMEof crisis and uncertaintyin America. The collapseof the u.s. Stock Exchange onOctober 28, 1929 created aworld economic crisis thatreverberated through most ofthe coming decade. Tensions inEurope would explode into warby September 1939. In the U.S.,economic burdens were worsenedby a series of naturaldisasters, including theJohnstown flood, the Hurricanemoving tribute to the bombingof that town during the SpanishCivil War or The Grapes ofWrath (1939) John Steinbeck'sportrayal of the effect of thedrought on farm workers. Forothers, the chaos of an erainspires the individual to lift thehuman spirit by providing anescape from the harsh realities ofdaily life and to reinforce faith ina world that, at the moment,seems uncertain. Many Americanmovies from the 1930s, fromcrises seem to have had verylittle direct impact on either theillustrator or his work.Rockwell's dilemmas were morepersonal and professional. Thebeginning of the decade foundRockwell ending a marriage,living alone in New York Cityand questioning his future in thefield of illustration. By 1940,Rockwell was remarried and afather, living in a small NewEngland town and about toembark upon the period of hist '" c.3g>~:ga.~@:c.!1>~~ __ ~ __ ~ __________________ ~8..§()~~Paris Bridge (LePont Neuj), penciland water coloron paper,European travelsketch, 1932.of 1938, and, most importantly,the drought that turned thefertile plains into a huge dustbowl.It is interesting to note thattimes of great difficulty are oftenthe periods of great creativity.Sometimes, a writer, artist,composer or film makerresponds directly to the crisis,such as Guernica (1937) Picasso'sBusby Berkeley musicals toFrank Capra's Mr. Deeds Goes toTown took viewers away from itall for a few brief hours. Americanmagazines also providedentertainment in the form ofcartoons, short stories and, ofcourse, illustrations.For Norman Rockwell, the1930s were a time of change anduncertainty. Yet, the world'sgreatest achievement andpopularity as an illustrator.In the summer of 1929,Norman Rockwell went toEurope with three couples.Irene, his wife of 13 years, stayedat home in New Rochelle.During the 1920s, the Rockwellswere part of the New Rochellesociety and country-club scene,although Norman said in his
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Spring 1998 - Norman Rockwell Museum

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