Model Citizen

Left to right: Ed Locke and Richard Clemens,the original
models for Norman Rockwell's 1958 painting The Runaway.
Photo by Jeremy Clowe. ©Norman Rockwell Museum.
All rights reserved.

Wow, it has been a rough year for losing good people. I learned yesterday that Richard Clemens, the former Massachusetts State Trooper who modeled for Norman Rockwell's 1958 painting The Runaway, has passed away. I got to know Mr. Clemens on several occasions during my time working at Norman Rockwell Museum. I first met him and fellow Runaway model Ed Locke (the little boy) back in 2001 when they attended a big Rockwell models reunion at the Museum. I had a chance to interview them at that time, which partially inspired me to begin conducting other videotaped oral histories for the Museum. I was amazed to be meeting the real-life models pictured on the canvas, and The Runaway is certainly one of Rockwell's most iconic.

In 2004 I staged a more elaborate interview with the duo for a documentary I was working on about Rockwell's years in Stockbridge, Massachusetts (location of the Museum, and where both Clemens and Locke lived as the artist's neighbors)—It has to be one of the most enjoyable interviews I have conducted during my time at the Museum. I staged the interview in town at Stockbridge's Elm Street Market, and had the duo try and recreate the scene. Clemens and Locke, who originally posed for the painting at a Howard Johnson's back in 1958, really had become close friends due to their history with the painting (later published on the September 20, 1958 cover of The Saturday Evening Post). They were like a comedy team, cracking jokes and having good-natured fun about this somewhat surreal experience they had become associated with. 

In fact, both gentleman had been extremely generous over the years, sharing their experience with visitors at the Museum on many different occasions. They also helped me out several times by granting interviews with worldwide press who were interested in Norman Rockwell and the image; I think the last time I saw Clemens was a year ago, when he and Locke filmed an interview for a BBC documentary about American diners. 

What has been truly touching over the years was to learn how much this painting has inspired law enforcement officers around the world. In 2008, Massachusetts State Police honored the couple during a special ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Runaway. Clemens was dedicated to law enforcement during his entire life, and so it was a nice way to recognize a painting that symbolized a job that he took great pride in.

It has been a busy couple of day conducting interviews with various press, including The Boston Globe. From today's edition: "The image represents a 'perfect Rockwell moment,’ Clowe said, one that stands among his most admired works and resonates with police officers around the world. “They were the absolutely right models for the piece,’’ he said. “I think you see the connection between them."

Rockwell models Ed Locke and Richard Clemens visiting Norman Rockwell's
original Stockbridge studio, located on the grounds of Norman Rockwell Museum.
Photo by Jeremy Clowe. ©Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

Related Links:

"Remembering Richard Clemens," Jeremy Clowe for www.nrm.org, May 7, 2012

"Officer in iconic Rockwell works dies," The Boston Globe, May 8, 2012

"Adieu to a cop we all knew," Albany Times Union, May 7, 2012