Past Exhibitions
Norman Rockwell:
Pictures for the American People
Phoenix Art Museum is proud to present the first comprehensive exhibition of the art of Norman Rockwell, exploring his unparalleled role as an American icon-maker and storyteller. Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People, organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, and The Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge, will be on view in the Museum's South Wing, January 27 - May 6, 2001. Featuring more than 70 of Rockwell's oil paintings and all 322 of his Saturday Evening Post covers, the exhibition offers visitors an in-depth look at the work of an artist who helped forge a sense of American identity and common values.
"Rockwell's unique talent was to capture the commonplace and make it extraordinary for Americans," said James Ballinger, director of Phoenix Art Museum. "As one of the most popular artists in American history, this exhibition demonstrates why Rockwell was loved by so many Americans. But more importantly, this is a tribute to Rockwell as more than a magazine illustrator; he was a master of realism."
"Phoenix Art Museum is delighted to bring this groundbreaking exhibition to the Southwest," continues Ballinger. "As well, we are pleased to be able to again provide a wonderful educational experience to over 21,000 schoolchildren from around the state who will tour the exhibition."
In November 1999, Pictures for the American People opened its national tour in Atlanta followed by showings in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and San Diego. After its stay at Phoenix Art Museum, the exhibition travels to The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, June 9 - October 8, 2001, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, November 16, 2001 - March 3, 2002.
Many of the works on view in Pictures for the American People are drawn from the permanent collection of The Norman Rockwell Museum, including such beloved and well-known images as the Four Freedoms (1943), The Marriage License (1955), Girl at Mirror (1954), Golden Rule (1961), Going and Coming (1947), and New Kids in the Neighborhood (1967). These paintings are augmented by significant and seldom-seen loans from private collections and an array of institutions, including The Brooklyn Museum (Tattoo Artist, 1944), The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (Game Called Because of Rain, 1949) and the Berkshire Museum (Shuffleton's Barbershop, 1950).
Also featured in the exhibition are materials demonstrating how Rockwell worked, proceeding from preliminary sketches, photographs, color studies, and detailed drawings to the finished painting.
Rockwell created pictures that bridged the old and the new, offering Americans a sense of comfort as the 20th century introduced them to a seemingly endless series of changes, the inventing of America. In Going and Coming (1947), for example, Rockwell shows how the proliferation of automobiles after World War II helped to create a new type of family vacation.
Rockwell's work also generated a visual encyclopedia of characters and scenes from American history, meeting a palpable need for shared heritage - a need that became more pressing as waves of immigrants changed American society and as international upheavals pushed the United States into the forefront of world affairs. Rockwell's pictures of colonial times, holidays and great leaders in American history (Lincoln for the Defense, 1962) provided Americans with shared images of a common past.
Rockwell's celebration of the commonplace in his works indicates his remarkable ability to focus on everyday moments and elevate them to new significance. The boys "caught in the act" in No Swimming (1921) become more than characters in an anecdote; they serve as instantly recognizable icons, representing the joys and pitfalls of youthful high spirits.
The exhibition also brings together Rockwell's images that honor the American spirit - works that address complex social issues, promote patriotism and examine ideas that were important to American life. In the act of portraying momentous developments such as the two World Wars, the civil rights movement, and the moon landing, Rockwell also helped build consensus around these events. The Four Freedoms (1943) gave visible form to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's concepts, and as such, were the centerpiece for a major government campaign explaining "why we fight." These four paintings served as the focal point of a traveling exhibition and war bond drive that elicited sales of more than $132 million in war bonds.
Themes in the Career of an American Icon Maker
Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People demonstrates how Rockwell images provided Americans with a vocabulary for describing and celebrating themselves, their country and their experiences in the 20th century. It also illuminates the relationship between Rockwell and the magazines and advertisers for whom he worked, and how they influenced his subject matter. Viewers will find the sentimental and humorous pictures for which Rockwell is best known, as well as images such as The Problem We All Live With (1964) in which he movingly addressed complex social and political issues.
The exhibition and its national tour are made possible by Ford Motor Company.
The exhibition and its accompanying catalogue are also made possible by The Henry Luce Foundation. Additional support is provided by The Curtis Publishing Company and The Norman Rockwell Estate Licensing Company. Education programs for the national tour are made possible by Fidelity Investments through the Fidelity Foundation.
In Arizona, Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People is presented by Qwest. Major support is provided by Bank of America. Additional support is provided by SRP, BlueCross BlueShield of Arizona, KPNX-TV Channel 12, Eller Media Company, Dillard's, Bashas', The Arizona Republic, J.W. Kieckhefer Foundation, Michael and Heather Greenbaum, and Barbara Turner Hitchcock.
Left: The Problem We All Live With, Norman Rockwell, 1964. Oil on Canvas. Collection of The Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge. Center: No Swimming, Norman Rockwell, 1921. Oil on canvas. Collection of The Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge. Right: Girl at Mirror, Norman Rockwell, 1954. Oil on canvas. Collection of The Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge.