Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978). The Campfire Story, 1936. Oil on canvas. 32 x 24 inches (81.3...

Description

Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978)
The Campfire Story, 1936
Oil on canvas
32 x 24 inches (81.3 x 61.0 cm)
Signed lower left: Norman / Rockwell

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

EXHIBITED:
National Scouting Museum, Murray, Kentucky, n.d.

LITERATURE:
Boy Scouts of America Calendar, Brown & Bigelow Co., Saint Paul, Minnesota, 1936, n.p., illustrated;
Boys Life Magazine, The Boy Scouts of America, New York, February 1936, cover, illustrated;
W. Hillcourt, Norman Rockwell's World of Scouting, New York, 1977, p. 132, illustrated;
M. Moline, Norman Rockwell Encyclopedia, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1979, pp. 220-21, fig. 8-15, illustrated;
L.N. Moffatt, Norman Rockwell: A Definitive Catalogue, Vol. I, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 1986, pp. 274-75, no. A56, illustrated;
J. Csatari, Norman Rockwell's Boy Scouts of America, New York, 2009, pp. 32-3, illustrated.

In The Campfire Story, Norman Rockwell depicts a Scoutmaster speaking by firelight as a group of scouts look on. Since its inception in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has appropriated Native American imagery into much of its pageantry. Often this imagery, such as feathered war bonnets, is taken from the cultural traditions of the Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains, likely due to the early influence of BSA co-founder and activist Charles Eastman of the Dakota people.

Rather than literalize an imagined Indigenous legacy of scouting or painting the ahistorical costumes of a call out ceremony, Rockwell chose to highlight something else. Perhaps inspired by the "Indian Lore Merit Badge," his Scoutmaster presents cultural objects while reading from an open book balanced on his knee. The warm campfire illuminates the quiet scene, catching the bright red neckerchiefs and muting their uniforms against the dark backdrop of the wilderness.

Rockwell's paintings for the BSA frequently highlighted the act of teaching. For him, their critical mission was the creation of leaders from each Scout, accomplished through the knowledge they are given and the knowledge they can pass on. It was Charles Eastman's own writing with his wife on the cultural heritage of the Dakota people and other Sioux tribes that inspired Ernest Thompson Seton and lead to their collaboration with the other BSA founders. With his Scoutmaster's lesson, Rockwell's The Campfire Story captures something closer to the spirit of the BSA than any fanciful history.


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

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