OUR VISIT TO THE NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM,

STOCKBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

Ideas and deadlines are the scourge of an artist’s life – Norman Rockwell

I never really considered myself an artist. I have been a mom for 30 years now and have wiped noses, read stories, gave kisses for boo-boos, drove the limo-bus, and prepared meals. These are not the traits of an artist. And then I started to write. I am growing into an artist-storyteller. But no one who has a story to tell wants to be strapped down by deadlines. 

When I heard that quote attributed to Rockwell, I felt a connection to the man behind the iconic paintings and illustrations. Today I feel the pain that Rockwell felt. An artist tells a story. As a blogger I use words and photos to draw the reader in to tell a story, to sell a product, and to make a connection to the world around me. If I could just write for myself, on my own schedule, without the deadlines, the worry about selling a product or making money, I could write and photograph and be a true artist. Selling your words and stories is almost like selling a part of your soul.

Norman Rockwell Captures All That is Good in the World

But visiting the Norman Rockwell museum helps restore my soul. His Saturday Evening Post covers line the basement walls of the museum. Watching the world change from 1916 to 1963 through two World Wars, the assassination of a sitting president, and The Great Depression all through the eyes of a man who wanted an iconic Main Street existence. And all of his paintings offer us hope for the future. 

As I read the current headlines and happenings in the world around me, it would seem that the zombie apocalypse is at hand. Facebook timelines are filled with stories of mayhem and evil. We live in an era when good friends no longer talk because they have a different viewpoint regarding religion, politics, abortion, and even breastfeeding. Journalists convince a person that the other side will destroy our country and possibly the entire world.

Things were no different while Norman Rockwell lived. However, no matter what was transpiring around the world, Rockwell managed to give us a glimpse into the good things in life. Take his painting of The Problem We All Live With inspired by the story of Ruby Bridges, a young black girl’s historic walk into a white school. This was a dark time in our history. Racial tension, riots, and uncertainty filled the United States in ways we can never comprehend today, but yet Norman Rockwell managed to see the best in situations. He saw the heroes and good during that time period.

Norman Rockwell: The Four Freedoms

As Rockwell captured the changes in America through time, he also captured the human spirit and our universal desire for “The Four Freedoms” (Freedom of Speech, Worship, Want, and Fear) and today we still desire these things. 

From small town America to the big cities, we all want these freedoms for ourselves and our loved ones – to be able to express our thoughts out loud, to be able to worship freely in the faith that we have chosen for ourselves, to be able to go to sleep at night with a roof over our heads and enough food to feed our families, and to be able to tell our children that there is hope for the future. 

Norman Rockwell: The Museum

The first time I heard of Norman Rockwell was when my older sister was getting married in 1976. I was nine years old. Our country had just gone through the Vietnam War. As a young girl, I remember hearing on the news the death counts, watching as my family worried about my brothers being drafted, and seeing my older sisters wear bracelets with men’s names that they had never met and waiting to hear if their MIA’s would ever return home. I watched everything my sister said and did. Her actions and words greatly impacted my daily life.

My sister was honeymooning in Massachusetts and was quite taken with Norman Rockwell. She returned home and talked excitedly of visiting his gallery and seeing his artwork. She wanted to purchase something but was not ready to do so financially. Several years later she returned to the area and purchased a charcoal print which still hangs in her house today. She talked about Rockwell through the years and had a book of his artwork that sat on her coffee table. 

I remember paging through the book and seeing wonderful magazine covers and artwork. While my family never traveled, I wondered about the area and the man. When I married and had a few children, I decided to explore this area of Massachusetts like my sister had years earlier.

I began to love Rockwell’s quirky Saturday Evening Post covers, but when I visited the museum, I fell in love with the essence of Norman Rockwell. 

It was almost two decades since I visited the Norman Rockwell Museum. Once again, I decided to visit with my children. Our three oldest children are grown, and we have two younger ones that I felt needed to see this area of the Berkshires that inspired such a famous painter. And the visit to the Norman Rockwell Museum didn’t disappoint. His paintings, magazine covers, and more touched me, even more, the second time around. This talented artist captured the human spirit in small-town America. This is the same small town that makes watching reruns of The Andy Griffith show so popular even years later.

In addition to being an illustrator for The Saturday Evening Post, a painter for decades, he also illustrated books. In fact, Rockwell’s first published work was as an illustrator for a children’s book entitled, Tell Me Why Stories About Mother Nature published in 1912.

Norman Rockwell Ideals:

Rockwell once said, “The View of life I communicate in my pictures excludes the sordid and the ugly. I paint life as I would like it to be.” His work portrays the good in all of us. Mabye if we focus a little more on the good, and a little less on the bad, we can find a little Norman Rockwell in all of us.

For information regarding current special exhibits, Visit The Norman Rockwell Museum HERE!  Have you heard of The Red Lion Inn? It is several blocks from The Norman Rockwell Museum – To find out more about The Red Lion Inn (the oldest continuously operating inn in the United States), Visit HERE!