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NMAI ROCKWELL EXHIBITION NAMED LONDON'S BEST
ART EXHIBITION OF 2011
The American Spectator magazine named the NMAI's Norman Rockwell's America
exhibition - at London's Dulwich Picture Gallery as part of Dulwich's
200th Anniversary Celebration - to be London's best art exhibition of
the year for 2011! The exhibition drew record-setting attendance numbers
as the first ever exhibition of Rockwell's original artworks in the UK,
and is now on display at the NMAI in Newport under the title Norman Rockwell: American Imagist.
In American Spectator's
December/January issue, English journalist, historian, and author Paul
Johnson expounds upon the merits of Rockwell's work in naming the
exhibition London's best. Rockwell's work "does not need any explaining, [or] justifying," rather it is "the
most sustained and successful exercise in social realism in the whole
history of art, remarkable alike for superb craftsmanship, unflinching
honesty, and invariable consistency."
 
 Johnson identifies the plainspoken-ness of Rockwell's work as the source of much of
his popularity with the public during his career, and consequently his
historical unpopularity with many critics from the fine-arts
establishment. "Of course the art critics hated him . . . He
left them with no function to perform. He spoke directly to the public."
In today's trying times, often characterized by social and political turmoil and doubt, Rockwell's portrayal of "an America which was democratic, freedom-loving, egalitarian, enterprising, and dynamic... sure of itself and its aim" and that "believed in its destiny" holds great appeal to modern audiences. "He is as popular now as ever."
The
exhibition is presently viewable at its home setting in Newport during
the NMAI's standard winter hours, Fridays 2pm to 5pm with a guided tour
at 3pm sharp, and for guided group tours of 8 visitors or more and
VIP tours by advance reservation. Additionally, as part of Newport's
Winter Festival, we will be open for general admissions on February 17,
18, 19, and 24, from 11am to 5pm.
To read the full text of the American Spectator article, please click here.
NMAI FEATURED
CARRERE & HASTINGS:
THE MASTERWORKS
NEW BOOK RELEASED!
Rizzoli Publishing recently released Carrere & Hastings: The Masterworks, the definitive volume on celebrated Gilded Age architects John Carrere and Thomas Hastings, designers of NMAI's venue Vernon Court. The authors write that the "impeccably restored" Vernon Court "easily ranks among the very best works of Carrere & Hastings" cited in this book of their 27 most notable buildings, including: Henry Morrison Flagler's Palm Beach art museum, Whitehall; art collector Ronald Lauder's Neue Galerie; the New York Public Library (America's most acclaimed
Beaux Arts building); the Ponce de Leon Hotel (Flagler College); Henry Clay Frick's New York mansion (The Frick Collection), Alfred I. duPont's mansion Nemours, and others.
 
The book is written by Dr. Laurie Ossman (director of the Woodlawn Plantation and Pope-Leighey House and author of Great Houses of the South; and Heather Ewing, architectural historian, Smithsonian research associate, and co-author of The Castle: An Illustrated History of the Smithsonian Building, and The Lost World of James Smithson: Science, Revolution, and the Birth of the Smithsonian.
The photography is by Steven Brooke, recipient of the Rome Prize, the
American Institute for Architects' International Book Award,
National Institute Honor Award in Photography, and photographer for
numerous architecture books published by Rizzoli, Pelican, Yale
University Press, and others.
The
NMAI's Vernon Court is featured on pages 128 through 143. For fans of
distinguished Gilded Age architecture and the NMAI alike, the book is
available in our gift shop ($75.00) along with many other illustration
themed books and gifts. Please call 401-851-8949 to place a book order.
To see other items available from our gift shop, click here.
Photos © Steven Brooke, Carrere and Hastings, by Laurie Ossman, Rizzoli New York, 2011
NMAI CO-SPONSORS ILLUSTRATION CONFERENCE
The
NMAI is a co-sponsor for the ICON7 Illustration Conference. Other
sponsors include the Rhode Island School of Design and the Society of
Illustrators.
The
7th Bi-Annual Icon Conference will take place June 13-16, 2012, in
Providence RI in the historic Vets Memorial Auditorium, located next
door to the Renaissance Hotel.
The conference is a not-for-profit, unique global event created over
the years to inspire and invigorate the illustration community. Since
the very first conference in 1999, ICON has played an important role in
enriching the diverse community of illustrators and other professional
picture makers. Showcasing today's popular and up-and-coming
illustrators, designers, art directors and visual thinkers, ICON 7 is
full of content, including presentations, hands-on workshops,
exhibitions, and networking events over a four day period.
ICON7 is a highly anticipated event for the illustration industry.
ICON7
delivers more than 500 illustrators, educators, students, creative
professionals and over 50 speakers - representing the brightest minds
from all related fields including publishing, advertising, galleries,
film, animation, fashion design, retail, and education. For more
information on ICON7, please click here.
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Eric Brocklehurst