By Alicia Kelso
Step back in time and see America through the eyes of one of its most recognized and loved artists of all time, Norman Rockwell.
The interactive exhibit Rockwell's America opens Nov. 1 and continues through March 1 at the Ohio Historical Center, 1982 Velma Ave.
Not only does the exhibit include scenes - and character actors - that inspired the iconic artist's work, but it also boasts all 322 covers Rockwell painted for the Saturday Evening Post. A re-creation of Rockwell's Massachusetts studio opens the exhibit, complete with details down to the last book on his shelves.
The exhibit is a learning experience, an opportunity to witness the changing times and technologies through Rockwell's work, including the advent of the automobile, telephone communication, the invention of the television, World War II, suburban sprawl and air transportation.
Fifteen theatrical environments based on some of Rockwell’s most famous art feature scenes from America’s history frozen in time, allowing visitors to become part of the past. Explore the artist’s studio, travel to “Main Street” featuring “The Gossips,” pose next to “Rosie the Riveter” and sit in a WWII army jeep, or go on your first date at “The Soda Jerk.” Each charming re-creation is coupled with multimedia experiences and live character interpretation.
“Because The Saturday Evening Post was Norman Rockwell’s showcase for more than 40 years, he had an audience larger than that of any other artist in history. As a result, everyone seems to have a favorite Norman Rockwell illustration,” says Connie Bodner, director of education and interpretation services for the Ohio Historical Society.
Rockwell sold his first cover painting in 1916, when he was 22, to America’s oldest magazine, The Saturday Evening Post. His career spanned through Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Kennedy, and Johnson, as well as other world figures, including Nasser of Egypt and Nehru of India. All of them posed for him for portraits.
Rockwell's most recognizable subjects, however, were more simple than that: His favorite subjects were his neighbors in everyday situations - at the doctor's office, sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner, playing around on the football field, surprising the teacher on her birthday.
Family traditions, especially Christmas, were themes frequently visited in Rockwell's work as well. Twenty-eight of his magazine covers featured an American Christmas setting.
He was an ordinary man who did extraordinary work. He scoured antique shops and auctions to buy the props and costumes necessary to perfect his ideas, which revolved simply around the concept of painting life the way he would have liked it to be.
As simple as most of Rockwell's covers were, he also delved into the deeper topics once the tides of change flowed in. He touched upon many aspects of social change, with Rosie the Riveter and the wartime adventures of Willy Gillis.
Rockwell's work, The Problem We All Live With, is a touching depiction of the Civil Rights movement with subject Ruby Bridges, a young African-American student ordered to attend an all-white school, to the dismay of many. Rockwell also painted Franklin Roosevelt's Four Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom from Fear and Freedom from Want, all of which are prominently displayed at the Ohio Historical Center.
The conclusion of the exhibit is a tribute gallery with every single cover Rockwell painted, separated by decade. The prolific work is familiar and comforting, often evoking emotion with his ideas of simpler times, and his incessant optimism even in times of dramatic change, war and economic uncertainty. Without a doubt, this exhibit proves why Rockwell was and continues to be the most reproduced artist of all time.
Rockwell’s America continues through March 1, 2009. Admission is $11 for adults, $10 for seniors (60+), $7 for youth (6-12), $3 for Ohio Historical Society members and free for children 5 and under. For more information, call 800-686-6124 or visit www.ohiohistory.org/rockwell.