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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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Eric Brocklehurst
