Author Archive: Christine Anne Piesyk, Contributing Editor

Four Freedoms: America through the eyes of Norman Rockwell

“Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed.” —Norman Rockwell

The “Four Freedoms” gallery at Norman Rockwell Museum. Photo courtesy of Berkshire Visitors Bureau. All rights reserved.

In thinking of Americana and the art that captured a nation one life and one family at a time, Norman Rockwell is the name that comes to mind. In the first half of the 20th century, Rockwell’s images of small town life that captured the antics of children and and characterizations of everyday Americans graced the covers of dozens of the Saturday Evening Post magazine issues. In the 1950s and 60s, he turned his eye to issues of social justice and freedom, creating portraits of de-segregation and racism that mirrored the turbulent social and political climate.

The legacy of Norman Rockwell lives on  in a stunning museum tucked away in the Berkshire landscape of Western Massachusetts, a four-season destination resplendent in art and scenic beauty.

Having often visited the downtown Stockbridge Rockwell museum, on the quaint “Main Street” of his famous painting, I was curious as to how the “new” museum would capture the essence and charm of the older quarters. The designers juxtaposed traditional architectural forms with the spaciousness of a world class gallery, setting the whole on a hillside with spectacular four season views. On its opening day, I toured the galleries, moving from room to room and from one historical period to another.

Confronted by the otherwise stark  walls upon which The Four Freedoms are mounted, I joined other visitors standing in silent awe.

Inspired by President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1943 address to Congress, Rockwell created the Four Freedoms paintings, which appeared in four consecutive issues of The Saturday Evening Post in tandem with essays by contemporary writers. Rockwell’s quartet — Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear — captured the hearts of the American public even as America was entrenched in a world war on two fronts. The paintings captured the ideals America’s soldiers were fighting for.  The Four Freedoms toured the United States in an exhibition that was jointly sponsored by the Post and the U.S. Treasury Department and, through the sale of war bonds, raised more than $130 million for the war effort.

Located in the small town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, The Norman Rockwell Museum, holds the world’s largest and most significant collection of works by Norman Rockwell, including more than 570 paintings and drawings and an archive of more than 100,000 photographs, letters, and materials. The Museum’s campus includes the artist’s original Stockbridge studio, moved from the center of town, which stands today much as it did in Rockwell’s lifetime, complete with easel, brushes, books, and furnishings.

By popular demand…Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell Museum (exterior). Photo by Walt Engels. ©Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

The Norman Rockwell Museum is one of the few museums in the country to have grown, literally, out of popular demand. In 1967, an historic home on Main Street in Stockbridge was threatened with demolition. A group of local citizens, including Norman and Molly Rockwell, joined the effort to save the classic white-clapboard building by raising funds for its purchase. The Old Corner House became the Stockbridge Historical Society in 1969, and the historical collection from the town’s public library was exhibited there.

Norman Rockwell agreed to lend some of his paintings to add variety in drawing visitors to the site. Primarily through word of mouth, people learned about the original Rockwell paintings on display in Stockbridge and attendance began to swell. Soon, the Old Corner House was identified primarily as a center for the exhibition of Rockwell’s works.

Located on Stockbridge’s historic Main Street for its first 24 years, the Museum moved in 1993 to its present home, which was designed by the renowned architect Robert A. M. Stern and is situated on 36 picturesque acres overlooking the Housatonic River Valley. Since moving to its new location and greatly expanding its educational programming, exhibition schedule, and special events, the Museum has become the most popular year-round destination in the culturally rich Berkshires of western Massachusetts.

Norman Rockwell’s original Stockbridge studio (interior). ©Brownie Harris. Courtesy of GE

“The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge must be one of the most popular museums in the world,” wrote art critic Paul Johnson in London’s The Spectator (August 1, 1998), “crammed from dawn till dusk with delighted visitors crowding round the originals of much-loved paintings. And one of the further pleasures of this enchanting place is that in the nearby little towns you can recognize among the locals the children and grandchildren of the originals whom Rockwell painted with dedicated veracity.”

The Museum is devoted to education and new scholarship that illuminates Rockwell’s unique contributions to art, society, and popular culture. “Visual communication is the language and currency of contemporary culture – Norman Rockwell was among the most powerful and beloved communicators of the 20th century,” says Museum Director Laurie Norton Moffatt. “His paintings continue to touch people in a way that transcends age and culture. The goal of the Norman Rockwell Museum is to take a broad view of Rockwell, showing his endurance as an important artist and an American icon.”

About Norman Rockwell…

Born in New York City in 1894, Norman Rockwell always wanted to be an artist. At age 14, Rockwell enrolled in art classes at The New York School of Art (formerly The Chase School of Art). Two years later, in 1910, he left high school to study art at The National Academy of  Design. He soon transferred to The Art Students League, where he
studied with Thomas Fogarty and George Bridgman. Fogarty’s instruction in illustration prepared Rockwell for his first commercial commissions.

From Bridgman, Rockwell learned the technical skills on which he relied throughout his long career. Rockwell found success early. He painted his first commission of four Christmas cards before his sixteenth birthday. While still in his teens, he was hired as art director of Boys’ Life, the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America, and began a successful freelance career illustrating a variety of young people’s publications.

At age 21, Rockwell’s family moved to New Rochelle, New York, a community whose residents included such famous illustrators as J.C. and Frank Leyendecker and Howard Chandler Christy. There, Rockwell set up a studio with the cartoonist Clyde Forsythe and produced work for such magazines as Life, Literary Digest, and Country Gentleman. In 1916, the 22-year-old Rockwell painted his first cover for The Saturday Evening Post, the magazine considered by Rockwell to be the “greatest show window in America.” Over the next 47 years, another 321 Rockwell covers would appear on the cover of the Post. Also in 1916, Rockwell married Irene O’Connor; they divorced in 1930.

The 1930s and 1940s are generally considered to be the most fruitful decades of Rockwell’s career. In 1930 he married Mary Barstow, a schoolteacher, and the couple had three sons, Jarvis, Thomas, and Peter. The family moved to Arlington, Vermont, in 1939, and Rockwell’s work began to reflect small-town American life.

Although the WWII era creation of the Four Freedoms series was a great success, 1943 also brought Rockwell an enormous loss. A fire destroyed his Arlington studio as well as numerous paintings and his collection of historical costumes and props.

In 1953, the Rockwell family moved from Arlington, Vermont, to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Six years later, Mary Barstow Rockwell died unexpectedly. In collaboration with his son Thomas, Rockwell published his autobiography, My Adventures as an Illustrator, in 1960. The Saturday Evening Post carried excerpts from the best-selling book in eight consecutive issues, with Rockwell’s Triple Self-Portrait on the cover of the first.

Rockwell raises social conscience with images of reflective of national news. Norman Rockwell Museum (interior). Photo by Art Evans. ©Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

In 1953, the Rockwell family moved from Arlington, Vermont, to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Six years later, Mary Barstow Rockwell died unexpectedly. In collaboration with his son Thomas, Rockwell published his autobiography, My Adventures as an Illustrator, in 1960. The Saturday Evening Post carried excerpts from the best-selling book in eight consecutive issues, with Rockwell’s Triple Self-Portrait on the cover of the first.

In 1961, Rockwell married Molly Punderson, a retired teacher. Two years later, he ended his 47-year association with The Saturday Evening Post and began to work for Look magazine. During his 10-year association with Look, Rockwell painted pictures illustrating some of his deepest concerns and interests, including civil rights, America’s war on poverty, and the exploration of space.In 1973, Rockwell established a trust to preserve his artistic legacy by placing his works in the custodianship of the Old Corner House Stockbridge Historical Society, later to become Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge. The trust now forms the core of the Museum’s permanent collections. In 1976, in failing health, Rockwell became concerned about the future of his studio. He arranged to have his studio and its contents added to the trust. In 1977, Rockwell received the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal.

The Museum and the field of illustration

“Our Babe Ruth is and always will be Norman Rockwell,” said illustrator C.F. Payne, speaking to the importance of Norman Rockwell as the standard of excellence for American illustrators.

“Rockwell’s paintings reflected American society and influenced generations of illustrators,” says Norton Moffatt. “He chronicled life in the United States during most of the 20th century and showed us America’s fundamental ideals of democracy, freedom, and human dignity. And he is fun! As the Museum dedicated to Rockwell’s legacy, we want to
show how his work fits into the greater scheme of modern culture and illustration.”

As a Museum devoted to the field of illustration, Norman Rockwell Museum is a rarity at a time when the visual communications field is becoming more dominant. As part of its mission, Norman Rockwell Museum is committed to exhibiting the work of such modern illustrators as David Macaulay and James Gurney, as well as such masters as Frederic Remington, Winslow Homer, Howard Pyle, J.C. Leyendecker, Maxfield Parrish, and Rockwell Kent.

Four seasons at the Norman Rockwell Museum

The Norman Rockwell Museum is required visiting on vacation on any Stockbridge/Berkshire (Western Massachusetts) vacation, with each season bringing its own splendor (and artistic/photographic opportunities).

Springtime: Norman Rockwell’s original Stockbridge studio (exterior). Photo by Art Evans. ©Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

Radiant Autumn: Norman Rockwell’s original Stockbridge studio (exterior). Photo by Art Evans. ©Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

Winter wonderland: Norman Rockwell’s original Stockbridge studio (exterior). Photo by Art Evans. ©Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

While visiting this area, several other attractions might beckon as well:

Chesterwood (just down the road from the Rockwell museum, is the estate of sculptor Daniel Chester French, creator of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Visit his home, gardens (including  summer outdoor sculpture garden) and studio, where the stages of design and creation of the Lincoln piece can be examined.

Main Street in Stockbridge — yes, the street immortalized by Rockwell — replete with shops, boutiques, arts, jewelry, candles, and the resplendence of the regal Red Lion Inn (nothing beats spiced cider by the red Lion  fireplace, with an old fashioned Christmas tree, live music (piano or harp), ornate gingerbread houses (seasonal), and light early winter snowfall.