Rockwell & Renoir

                Rockwell and Renoir             

    Near Stockbridge, in western Mass. You will find the sylvan setting that houses the Norman Rockwell Museum. It sits on a large plot of field and farm. Two stories high and unobtrusive, it houses only a small fraction of paintings from arguably one of America’s best known and most loved painters, Norman Rockwell. We parked our car, in the large stone covered lot, and walked up to the museum and into the lobby. A central foyer houses the usual amenities, a ticket counter and information booth. We purchased our tickets and walked into the museum, declining the headsets, with narratives. I feel people tend to over think Rockwell, instead of just enjoying the visual and misty-memory visage of Americana that he so richly portrays. We had been here once before and even had visited the original museum in its cramped, yet picturesque quarters in Stockbridge.

    The small circular chamber, that houses his “Four Freedoms” series, attracts your attention first. The four large murals, featuring “Freedom from Want”, a visage of a fully laden Thanksgiving table, with family smiling around it, first draws your eye. “Freedom from Fear,” parents looking in on their two sleeping children, after an air raid, is next. “Freedom of Speech,” an Abe Lincolnesque portrait, of a man ready to speak out in public, is next. Finally “Freedom of Religion,” a montage of many faces and many nationalities finishes up the Litany. It is impressive to sit and contemplate the imagery that the man painted. It makes one think of all that he represents here, the full bounty of the American Republic.

     Next, we wander amidst the dozens of paintings along the walls. They depict an earlier America in its many guises and faces. The expressions on the faces, and the humor of the situations, are masterful representations of an era and a feeling now seemingly far away. Nostalgia wells up in us like a wave. The artist has captured both a country and a century.

   Rockwell was born in the 1890’s and live until 1978. During his long life, he painted over 4,000 paintings like these. At 17, he was named art director for ‘Boy’s Life’ a Scouting magazine. Then, he worked as an illustrator for magazines and commercial enterprises before landing his most noted position. From 1912 through 1964 he drew the covers for the Saturday evening Post Magazine.  A copy of the 325 covers hangs on three walls in the basement of the museum. They cover the American experience during that period. His humorous renditions of Americans, of all ages, shines out at you and makes you smile. During the 1960Õs he handled racial strife with delicacy and intelligence. The painting “Problems we all live with” is a classic. Three large and sturdy marshals escort a small and fragile black girl to her school. It is both poignant and powerful.

   We paused, after one pass through the museum, and sat down for lunch on a covered patio at the rear of the museum. It over looks a farm and field and is restful. We had sandwiches and designer water while enjoying the beautiful, sunny afternoon.

   After lunch, we again walked slowly past the assembled Saturday Evening post covers, savoring the facial expressions and the subtle messages imparted by a master at his craft. We then drifted one more time through the paintings on the first floor, enjoying, as always the many emotions called up by a virtuoso in oil. Then the “Museum glaze” over took us. We knew that it was time to go.

     In Williamstown, Mass. about 35 miles up the road, as part of Williams College, sits The Clark Art Institute, one of the finest collections of Renoirs and Impressionist art, this side of the New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The founders, Francine and Sterling Clark, were heirs to the Singer Sewing fortune. They had bought up Impressionist Art in Paris, during the late nineteenth century, when you could buy the works for the price of a meal or a loaf of bread. We have been here twice before and will come back many times in the future.

   The right side of the museum is a white-marble and Greek Classic temple, replete with doric columns and polished marble facade. It connects to the darker brown and brick-faced eminence of the main museum, by means of a second story glass solarium. The main museum is subdued and elegant looking like the Norton Simon Museum in Los Angeles. We walked into the central foyer and paid our $10 admission. For much of the year, admission is free. The Clark family was and are philanthropic by nature.

   And since this visit, the museum had undergone a multi-million dollar addition that transformed the complex into an international art center. We visited it on a later occasion and were much impressed with what they had created. But, back to our original visit.

    The exhibit starts out with some nice paintings of the family and an explanation of the museum and its contributions. We walked through it to the second story exhibit. It was a first time showing of the works collected by the two of the Clark Brothers, Sterling and Stephen. 

    Renoir’s still painting “Onions” first strikes you. Then, several great pieces by Edward Hopper catch your eye. Van Gogh’s “Night in a café” and a wonderful painting of Cezanne’s, called  “Card Players” are next. They are both famous and intriguing. A few Degas announce themselves with bright swatches of pastel, depicting a series of dancing studio portraits. Frederick Remmington has some intriguing “cavalry pieces” and John Singer Sargent, a few full length portraits. “La Petite Danseuse” stands on a small pedestal, Degas’ most famous work in clay. Several others oils are of interest, but they slide by our eyes in the face of the those named.

    Next, we head across the glass atrium of the bridge, to the permanent collection. Here lies the museums treasures. The outer walls are lined with interesting pieces from many wonderful painters. A small enclave, by an artist named Stephens, picture four women in different, late-nineteenth century dress, entitled Summer, Winter, Fall and Spring. They are eye catching and remind us of James Tissot, who also has one piece here.

   A few more rooms hold elegant collections of silver plate and period furniture, like the Old Getty Museum in Santa Monica, Ca. We see and enjoy an Italian artist named Boldini, whose tiny pieces are caricatures and amusing. The names fly by us like a dictionary of the masters in oil.

   Then, we enter the center room. It is here that most of the Renoirs are hung. Painting after painting demonstrate the deep blues and satiny ebony of this Impressionist Master. Three pieces have women with bright swatches of orange in their attire. I could sit and look at the Renoirs all day and never tire of him. As many Impressionist collections as we have visited, we always discover some new work of Renoir’s that inspires us. 

   We break for a time, to sit in the first-floor lobby and sip coffee. Bands of school kids, and other aging cultural warriors like us, wander amidst the splendor of the works around us. A small legion of suit-jacketed security guards wander through the collection, reminding all of the value of the hundreds of millions of dollars of art works here on display. 

   Thus fortified, we retrace our original path, enjoying again the afore mentioned works, trying to burn the colorful images into our retinas for enjoyment over and over again. “The Clark” as locals call it, is a place well worth visiting. We linger and then leave reluctantly, glad that we had come again and pleased that something as common as sewing machines had made this all possible for us to enjoy. It was a visit we would long remember.

                                    -30-

                              (1,307 words)

                            Joseph Xavier Martin