Heritage to Auction Important Original Norman Rockwell Oil Painting The First Time This Painting has Ever Been Offered at Auction

New York City - On March 6-9, Heritage will conduct an auction of important illustration art, part one of The Famous American Illustrators Collection. Added to the mix is this superb American historical composition, alternatively titled "Poor Richard's Almanac" and "Freedom of the Press", which may well have provided Rockwell some inspiration for his other, more famous "Four Freedoms" series that he later painted for the Government War Bonds effort during World War II. Here we see Ben Franklin proofreading a newly printed page, an image that Rockwell created during the early 1930s for the anticipated celebration of the 500th anniversary of the printing press in 1936. Rockwell's longtime friend and model, Fred Hildebrandt, posed as the printer hovering over Ben Franklin's shoulder.

http://www.heritagecomics.com/images/highlights/rockwell.jpg

This painting has resided with the same family for decades and has never been offered at auction before. A photocopy of a letter from Rockwell to the father of the painting's most recent owner (until it was sold privately last year) accompanies the painting, and states as follows:

Norman Rockwell
Stockbridge,
Massachusetts

Mar. 6, 1973

Dear Mr. Yotnakparian,

In reply to your letter of February 20th, I did the picture at least forty years ago when I lived in New Rochelle. I don't remember who posed for Ben Franklin, but I do know the printer in back of him was one of my favorite models, Fred Hildebrandt.

Sincerely yours,
Norman
Rockwell

The image size is 32"x27" and the quality of the work is simply superb. Furthermore, it is difficult to imagine a more collectible and desirable patriotic, Rockwell-esque American theme for any Norman Rockwell painting. Estimate: $300,000-up

Norman Perceval Rockwell (1894-1978) Norman Rockwell painted America. An idealistic America to some, but one that he, and ultimately millions of others, prefer to remember. He possessed the gift of translating our collective feelings to canvas; our fears and hopes, our childhood innocence and dreams, all in a manner that became his distinctive narrative style. For nearly half a century Rockwell's paintings appeared on the covers of The Saturday Evening Post and have become a visual legacy of the artist and his contribution to American illustration. Throughout his career, whether creating advertising images, calendars, story or book illustrations, Rockwell shared his bucolic and often humorous vision of America with us. As the 20th century came to a close, a major retrospective of his work began touring the country, ending at the prestigious Guggenheim Museum in 2001. Posthumously, Rockwell finally achieved what had been his lifelong ambition and in so doing brought a new recognition to American Illustration as we entered the 21st century.

Heritage, the world's largest collectibles auctioneer, specializes in rare coins and currency, high-grade comic books, as well as vintage comic and animation art, illustration art, movie posters, vintage toys and comics-related collectibles.