Norman Rockwell was probably America's best known illustrator and almost everyone is familiar with his great Saturday Evening Post covers. But Rockwell was also a much more profound artist--in terms of both skill and political convictions--than most people give him credit for. Rockwell had an ability to take ordinary and extremely familiar situations and turn them into iconic images that reflected, I think, the character and the true emotions of the events they depicted--everything from a Thanksgiving dinner to racial events in the American south (look at his great work Southern Justice (Murder in Mississippi).
Rockwell lived much of his life in Vermont and Stockbridge, Massachusetts and the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge is worth a trip from anywhere. The museum holds the single largest collection of Rockwell's works (more than 700 paintings) as well as an archive of more than 150,000 photos, letters, etc. The lower floor of the museum has a gallery of all of the Post covers and there is a continuous biographical video playing. The main floor is a beautiful collection of galleries that showcases many of Rockwell's finest paintings. My favorite is a long panorama of Stockbridge at Christmastime (you can even see the Christmas tree shining from the artist's own livingroom window)--it's a soulful, masterful painting. There is no better painting of an American town.
Just a short walk across the beautiful museum grounds you'll find Rockwell's actual studio (see photo) that was moved to the grounds from town. You can go inside the studio and see the room where the great artist painted most of his famous works. Fascinating. The grounds are beautiful too and very photogenic--rolling Berkshire Mountains and pretty gardens all around. The museum also has a great gift shop and cafe.
The museum and the town of Stockbridge make a great weekend getaway and the place to stay in Stockbridge is the Red Lion Inn--easily one of the nicest inns you'll find in New England (or anywhere else for that matter) and the food and service are superb by any standard. The inn is literally awash in fascinating antiques and there are Rockwell paintings and prints on almost every wall. In fact, Rockwell used the inn as the setting for many of his most famous paintings, including his famous "Freedom from Want" (one of the Four Freedoms series).
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