Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978). Beyond the Easel, 1969. Oil on canvas. 29 x 27 inches (73.7 x 68.6 cm). Signed lo...

Description

Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978)
Beyond the Easel, 1969
Oil on canvas
29 x 27 inches (73.7 x 68.6 cm)
Signed lower right: Norman / Rockwell

Property from the BSA Settlement Trust, Sold for the Benefit of Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

LITERATURE:
Boy Scouts of America Calendar, Brown & Bigelow Co., Saint Paul, Minnesota, 1969, illustrated;
W. Hillcourt, Norman Rockwell's World of Scouting, New York, 1977, p. 124, illustrated;
M. Moline, Norman Rockwell Encyclopedia: A Chronological Catalog of the Artist's Work 1910-1978, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1979, p. 231;
L.N. Moffatt, Norman Rockwell: A Definitive Catalogue, Vol. I, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 1986, pp. 288-9, no. A90, illustrated;
J. Csatari, Norman Rockwell's Boy Scouts of America, New York, 2009, title page, illustrated.

Since his first appearance in The Saturday Evening Post in 1916 until his death in 1978, Norman Rockwell was the quintessential artist of an American century. From the windows of his magazine covers to the time marked on his calendars, his audience saw an idealized vision of the nation's shared experience. Through moments of triumph and humor, perseverance and dignity, in times of war and peace, Rockwell helped craft a national identity.

Over his 64-year relationship with the Boy Scouts of America, Norman Rockwell created countless images of duty, community, and friendship. In this way, his work with the scouts is a microcosm of his art: portraits of individuals who come together to become something greater than themselves in the fabric of a democracy.

In Beyond the Easel, Rockwell has placed himself in the center of this melting pot. Like his self-proclaimed masterpiece Triple Self-Portrait, 1960 (Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts) (fig. 1), Beyond the Easel is a self-portrait of the artist at work, playfully balancing audience's perspective to the canvas within the canvas. Clad in the adopted uniform of the scouts, Rockwell becomes a teacher, his outlook made literal as a painting and given as a lesson to the stewards of the next generation.

Rockwell is armed with the familiar tools of his trade: mahlstick and brushes in one hand; a single brush in the other, clutched with the red, white, and blue of a simple painter's rag. The canvas and its subject remain hidden from the viewer except through the eyes and faces of the young men who flank the artist. A young boy at Rockwell's feet picks up the proverbial torch, just holding onto a paintbrush as he gazes ahead. Coming of age in the tumultuous time of the late sixties, the lessons gleaned here in this field, the perspective gifted from the old master, guide these scouts through an uncertain future.

Beyond the Easel is Rockwell at his most self-reflective. As he nears the end of his life, he pauses for just a moment, considering the next brush stroke as he considers the legacy of his life's work. What wisdom is passed down to the next generation? As he steals in paint the light from this quiet clearing, he once again captures an American moment. The Boy Scouts shown are all of us, gazing through the lens of Rockwell's work to see a world not necessarily as it is, but as it could be. His spirit endures in the hearts of anyone who chances upon his art and sees themselves in a new way.

Opening Bid: $100,000


More information about Norman Rockwell. See also: Rockwell, Norman, Rockwell, Norman Perceval Artist.

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