October 12, 2012

NORMAN ROCKWELL'S AMERICA

DEBUTS AT

BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ART!

 

NMAI Director Judy Cutler in front of Exhibition Banner at BMA Entrance

On September 16, Norman Rockwell's America debuted at the Birmingham Museum of Art, in Birmingham, Alabama. The exhibition is an in-depth look at the life and work of America's favorite illustrator. Rockwell's six-decade career coincided wtih one of the most eventful periods in American history, spanning four wars, the Great Depression, the space race, and the Civil Rights Movement, all vividly depicted in his work. The exhibition includes 52 original paintings and drawings. Additionally, to augment the original artworks, it contains all 323 Saturday Evening Post vintage covers created by Rockwell between 1916 and 1963.

 

BMA Curator of American Art Graham Boettcher addresses crowd at Exhibition debut in front of Love Ouanga, 1936

BMA Executive Director Gail Andrews stated, "This is just perfect...with Norman Rockwell, there will be works from 1916 to 1969 that tell heartfelt narratives of American optimism, trust and enshrined values." The Birmingham Museum of Art's curator of American Art, Graham Boettcher, further expounds "It takes you from his earliest works, when he was illustrating for long-gone magazines like The Country Gentleman, Judge magazine and Farm and Fireside, to when the gloves came off and he was allowed to be a little more political."

 

 

 

Visitors at Opening Night Reception for Norman Rockwell's America

Organized by the NMAI and the American Illustrators Gallery NYC, Norman Rockwell's America premiered to critical and popular acclaim at London's Dulwich Picture Gallery in December 2010, England's oldest art museum, as part of their 200th Anniversary celebration.  Visitors in Birmingham will also enjoy a supplemental exhibition focusing on Rockwell's work for the Coca-Cola Company, as well as an exhibition of illustrations from the BMA's permanent collection, including works by other notable American illustrators such as Frederic Remington, N.C. Wyeth, and Maxfield Parrish. Norman Rockwell's America is the first Rockwell exhibition ever for the BMA, and opening weekend attendance was over 1200 visitors. 

Solitaire. 1950

 

 

The exhibition will remain at the Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) until January 6, 2013. For BMA hours, tickets, and other visitor information, please click here.

NMAI Museum Director Judy Cutler and Chairman Laurence Cutler delivering welcoming speech at Exhibition Debut

(l-r) Norman Rockwell's Threading the Needle, 1922, and Santa's Workshop, 1922

 

 

 

Norman Rockwell's America

Limited Edition Catalog Now Available

 

In conjunction with Norman Rockwell's America debuting at the Birmingham Museum of Art, the NMAI has published a limited printing, 265 page catalog to accompany the exhibition. The catalog's text analyzes the scope and context of the various stages of Rockwell's career, and includes nearly 600 photos and illustrations, including every one of Rockwell's 323 Saturday Evening Post covers. The catalog is available in the BMA gift shop, as well as at the NMAI MuseShop, in Newport, Rhode Island.  To order a copy of the catalog ($35 plus shipping), call 401-851-8949 ext. 18.

 

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For Reservations:

Eric Brocklehurst
National Museum of American Illustration

492 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI 02840
T: 401-851-8949 ext. 18, F: 401-851-8974
eric@americanillustration.org
www.americanillustration.org 

 

Open for General Admissions Fridays only, 11am to 5pm, with a guided tour at 3pm, and all other times by advance reservation. Weekend General Admission hours resume Memorial Day weekend, 2013. 

 

Tickets:

Adults: $18; Seniors (60+) & Military: $16; Students: $12; Children ages 5 to 12: $8. Children ages 5 to 12 are permitted only if they are vouchsafed by parents or guardians as being 'well-behaved.'

 

Norman Rockwell's paint box and pallet, used by Rockwell from age 16 to 30.

The National Museum of American Illustration is a nonprofit, independent, educational and aesthetic organization. It is located in Newport, RI, on Bellevue Avenue at Vernon Court (1898), a Carrére and Hastings designed Beaux-Arts adaptation of an 18th century French chateau. It is the first national museum devoted exclusively to American illustration art. Illustration consists of original artwork created to be reproduced in books, magazines, newspapers, and advertisements. 'Golden Age' paintings by such luminaries as Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish, NC Wyeth, JC Leyendecker, and 150 others are displayed in 'Gilded Age' architecture, creating a unique union of architecture and art - a national treasure. The Museum is administered by the American Civilization Foundation, a nonprofit organization with the goal to present the best possible venue for appreciating the greatest collection of illustration art - the most American of American art.

 

 

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