People Person

This past month marks my fifteenth year at Norman Rockwell Museum. Originally starting as a docent, giving talks about the Norman Rockwell's life and career, I now serve as one of the Museum's chief spokespeople in my role as manager of media services. Time flies, and I can't believe how much I now know of the artist and the field of illustration.

So, as I'm often asked, what's new at the Museum? Well, our exhibition, We The Peoples: Norman Rockwell's United Nations was a big success at the United Nations Headquarters. I am particularly proud that this exhibition came out, since it is my video about Rockwell's 1953 United Nations drawing that caught the eye of the peacekeeping organization, and inspired the show to mark its 70th anniversary. Nearly 70,000 people, including important delegates, are estimated to have viewed the exhibition (which included my video) during its run.

Celebrating the "Golden Rule": Pope Francis and
United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon share a
Norman Rockwell moment at the UN.
Photo courtesy: Samir Afridi/UN

Although the exhibition officially ended on September 15, the Museum continued to loan Rockwell's drawing and Golden Rule painting, in order for the UN to share the works with visiting dignitaries. High on that list was Pope Francis, who stopped by the UN this past month during his first visit to the United States. Alerted by my UN counterpart to his planned visit earlier in the week, I was charmed when he finally sent us photos of the pontiff admiring this beautiful painting from our collection. Just the day before the Pope referenced the concept of "the golden rule" during his historic address to Congress (I like the guy!), so it seemed a fitting backdrop. Days later, President Obama was introduced to the United Nations drawing during his visit, and apparently was impressed (remarking that he would like a copy). All in all, a great way to cap off this historic opportunity for the Museum; I felt honored to have played a part.

Fearless: with Rockwell model, Marjorie Coulter, "Freedom From Fear."
Courtesy: Norman Rockwell Museum.

The concept of "we the peoples" works so perfectly with Norman Rockwell's work, as he seemed to capture the hopes and aspirations of the general public from the twentieth century to this day. Since my earliest days at the Museum, I have taken it upon myself to document the stories of those people who worked with the artist. People were the focus of Rockwell's work, and so his models played an important role. As I told the website BerkshireStyle, "he made all the models very at ease, even the young children. He was a very personable individual and was able to get the expressions he wanted."

Over the years I have captured nearly 100 videotaped interviews with Rockwell models, that now serve as an important document for the Museum's archives. I have heard many stories over the years, yet still can be surprised...as I was back in 2009 when a woman named Marjorie Coulter visited and informed us that she was one of the young children in Rockwell's Freedom From Fear, part of his iconic Four Freedoms series:

Every first Friday of the month, the Museum holds a "Meet Rockwell's Models" program, where visitors have the opportunity to meet the figures presented in his work. Marjorie joined us in September, and for October I invited a woman named Pauline Adams Grimes to share her memories.

Rewind: meeting Rockwell models, summer 2001.
Photo courtesy: Norman Rockwell Museum.

I had first met Pauline back in 2001 during a big Rockwell models reunion that we held at the Museum; that is when I started videotaping models' oral histories, yet only managed to film a few remarks of her remarks. Eight years later, I traveled out to Arlington, Vermont, with one of my colleagues to attend a model reunion being held in the town that Rockwell called home, before moving to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and finally managed to sit down with Pauline and capture her story.

Pauline and her siblings were introduced to Norman Rockwell back in the early 1950s, by folk artist/neighbor Grandma Moses, who knew that Rockwell was looking for a multi-ethnic crowd to appear in a sketch he was working on about the United Nations. The family posed for several photos in Rockwell’s Arlington studio, and Pauline ended up pictured in the bottom right of the drawing. Although traveling to the UN’s headquarters to conduct research and photograph actual delegates to appear in the illustration, Rockwell eventually put the image aside (and revisited the concept for the painting Golden Rule in 1960, which featured Pauline's brother Paul). 

Rockwell model Pauline Adams Grimes
exploring NRM's archives, Oct. 2015.
Photo: Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell
Museum. All rights reserved.

Prior to the opening of We The Peoples, I tried to contact Pauline to let her know about the exhibition. I wasn't sure if she ever received my phone or post card, until I finally heard back from her at the end of the summer; she was thrilled to learn about the show and the existence of the drawing, and ended up visiting the UN with her family to view the original illustration for the first time (and meeting the UN's Deputy Secretary-General); "It was beautiful," she later remarked. "More than I ever dreamed it would be."

This aspect of my job has been one of my favorites: seeing the joy that Rockwell's work creates for people, and being able to help facilitate that and even introduce to new audiences. The fall is our busiest season, and as I helped greet the dozens of tour buses that arrived daily to view the vibrant art and foliage, I couldn't help but remember my start giving gallery talks at the Museum over a decade ago. 

One of my newest tasks is being appointed editor-in-chief of our members' magazine (who says print is dead?), and so I continue to play an important role at the Museum, through my knowledge, creativity, and own passion for the arts. If only my father, an admirer of Rockwell's work and artist in his own right, could see me now.

Related Links:

"Norman Rockwell's Models" (interview), BerkshireStyle, September 2, 2015

"Model UN/NRM" (written by JC), September 2015, Norman Rockwell Museum website

"Honoring The Golden Rule" (written by JC/videos edited by JC), September 2015, Norman Rockwell Museum website

Did Her Part

Mary Keefe ("Rosie") signing autographs
at Norman Rockwell Museum, July 2013.
Photo by Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell
Museum. All rights reserved.

I was sad to learn the news that Mary Doyle Keefe, the model for Norman Rockwell's iconic Rosie The Riveter painting, died this past week at the age of 92. I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Mary on several occasions during my time at Norman Rockwell Museum, and she was always quite pleasant and modest about her experience posing for the artist. 

Like many of Rockwell's models, Mary was also one of his neighbors during the years the artist lived in Arlington, Vermont. She was just 19 and the town telephone operator, when Rockwell called and asked her if she could pose for his latest painting. "You knew he used a lot of people in Arlington," she recalled during a 2002 video interview I conducted with her for the Museum. "You just knew that that's what he did. So I said 'sure' and went down, and sat there for maybe two hours or so. Gene Pelham, his photographer, took all the pictures." 

Several weeks later she received a call from Rockwell, apologizing for changing her petite frame into the hefty, muscular figure (inspired by Michelangelo's painting of the Prophet Isaiah on the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel). She seemed to take it in stride, despite the occasional ribbing. The illustration appeared on the May 29, 1943 cover of The Saturday Evening Post, becoming a beloved symbol for women who joined the workforce during World War II. 

It is amazing to see how Norman Rockwell's images continue to resonate to this day. Shortly after hearing the news of Mary's passing, I started to receive numerous press calls at the Museum looking for comment and more information. Today's New York Times features an article, which includes excerpts from my 2002 interview; and I have also shared audio from that interview with such radio outlets as WAMC, our local NPR station, as well as Hartford's WTIC (coincidentally, where I once interned during college). 

A blog post I created on our website has been cited by numerous sources, and my Facebook post about the news has set a record for us (currently reaching over 2 million 200 thousand people, with over 9700 likes and 15,470 shares). Our Facebook fans have been posting comments of appreciation and even archival photos of family members who served as real-life "Rosies" or modern-day tributes. 

With "Rosie," August 2012 at Norman Rockwell Museum.
Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

From my years of conducting videotaped oral histories with Rockwell's models, I can offer a certain level of insight about the artist and his collaborators, and that is a great feeling. It is also satisfying to be able to share the story of everyday people, who have found themselves in extraordinary situations. 

As I told a reporter from the Nashua Telegraph this week, "I think several people from the Arlington area were unsuspecting of the legacy they would suddenly be carrying with them. They became part of Norman Rockwell’s world and became more aware of this lasting impact as generations went on." As a sweet side note, Mary's granddaughter Hillary went on to intern with us at Norman Rockwell Museum.

The last time I saw Mary was in 2013, when she attended one of the Museum's model reunions (her arrival always seemed treated like "royalty" by our visitors). She looked great and was gracious as always, signing autographs and posing for photos. A rather reserved woman, I think she just accepted this larger than life "celebrity" that she became associated with, and was happy to share her memories with an appreciative public. "It was a privilege to be able to sit for Norman Rockwell and be able to do all these things, because he was quite an artist," she told me. "I got quite a bit out of it."


Related Links:

"Mary Keefe, Model for Rockwell’s ‘Rosie the Riveter,’ Dies at 92," The New York Times, April 24, 2015

"One-time Nashua resident who posed as 'Rosie the Riveter' dies," Nashua Telegraph (subscription only), April 24, 2015

"Rockwell Museum Remembers Mary Doyle Keefe, a.k.a. 'Rosie the Riveter" (video interview), Time Warner Cable News, Albany, NY, April 23, 2015

"Rockwell Museum Remembers Rosie The Riveter Model" (includes audio clips/interview), WAMC Northeast Public Radio, April 23, 2015

My Facebook Post for Norman Rockwell Museum (includes photo and fan tributes), April 22, 2015

"Remembering Rosie The Riveter," my blog post for Norman Rockwell Museum website, April 22, 2015

Home Run!

I kicked off the Memorial Day weekend in grand style last Thursday, by tuning in to the CBS Evening News to catch their segment on Norman Rockwell's 1957 painting, "The Rookie," which I pitched and coordinated for Norman Rockwell Museum. Just in time for Christie's auction of the painting, which sold for $22.5 million that morning, the CBS segment was nicely produced, and original "Rookie" model, Sherm Safford was the perfect spokesman. You can view the clip below, and on the CBS News website:

As expected, last week kept me busy with press regarding Norman Rockwell's work at auction, and I fielded numerous calls from news outlets looking for perspective on the artist's enduring popularity; I thought journalist Karen Brown summed up this particular moment quite nicely in a segment for New England Public Radio, for which I was interviewed. Another news story I helped facilitate appeared in last Saturday's New York Times, including comments from our Museum's director. 

As I pointed out to The Berkshire Eagle in their May 16th article about the CBS Evening News segment, even though Norman Rockwell Museum did not own these recents works on the auction block, being consulted for these high-profile stories is "fortunate for us because it reminds people about what was so special about his [Rockwell's] work, and the fact that they can come here to see original artwork and learn more."

Interviewing Sherm Safford, Norman Rockwell's "Rookie," in the
Flower City. Photo by Sarah Clowe. ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

Keeping this in mind, I contacted some of the press in my own hometown of Rochester, New York, before heading there for the long, holiday weekend—I figured that they might be interested in knowing that Mr. Safford has been a long-time resident of the area. WROC-TV, Rochester's CBS affiliate, took the bait, and visited Safford and me in the former Rockwell model's home the day after the auction. The station, which I used to work at back in the late '90s as an editor/camera man, filmed interviews about Rockwell's legacy with both me and Safford, and I brought along several props (the artist's reference photos for the painting, "Rookie" products from our Museum store) to help bring the story to life visually. The segment is scheduled to run next Tuesday, June 3, on the station's newscast (more details soon).

After we were finished with the WROC interview, I sat down with Mr. Safford myself, and conducted a videotaped interview for the Museum's archives. This fulfilled a goal we set during our first meeting at Rochester's George Eastman House back in August 7, 2011, when I interviewed Safford during my lecture about Norman Rockwell's models, and the number of videotaped oral histories I have conducted with them for the Museum over the years. It was fun to capture Safford's emotions the day after the heady auction and experience of viewing himself on national TV news the night before. You can listen to our original 2011 Eastman House interview here:

  

The rest of the Memorial Day weekend was spent catching up with family and friends, and making it to two magnificent Rochester landmarks: Highland Park, site of the Lilac Festival (we were just in time to witness the lilacs in full bloom), and the Memorial Art Gallery. The art museum was featuring an exhibit on Henri Matisse as printmaker, in addition to its gem of a permanent collection (which includes everything from Egyptian artifacts, classical paintings and sculpture, to modern art); we were also lucky to catch a lecture on the Hudson River School and plein air painting, provided by the curator of Olana, the historic home of Frederic Edwin Church, in Hudson, New York— it's funny that we traveled out to Rochester for a talk about art created in our area of the state, but it was informative for both me and Sarah (we have painted onsite at Olana ourselves in the past).

Home grown: lilacs in bloom at Highland Park, Rochester, NY, 
May 2014. Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

This week I'm back in the Capital Region/Berkshires, tackling press and preparing for Norman Rockwell Museum's upcoming exhibition on the illustration art of Edward Hopper (opening on June 7). Outside of work, I'm finishing up a couple independent video productions... trying to race against the clock. Indeed, taking a few minutes to write here feels like a welcome "seventh inning stretch."

Related Links:

"How Norman Rockwell drafted his 'Rookie,'" CBS Evening News, May 22, 2014

"Rockwell's 'The Rookie' to be featured on CBS News," Berkshire Eagle, May 16, 2014

"Rockwell Paintings Bring Windfalls - On Two Different Scales," New England Public Radio, May 22, 2014

Pitch Perfect

Left to right: Sherm Safford, Norman Rockwell's
original "Rookie," ready for his close-up with
CBS correspondent Lee Cowan, during visit
to Norman Rockwell Museum, May 15, 2014.
Photo by Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell
Museum. All rights reserved.

Last week producers from CBS News visited Norman Rockwell Museum to film a segment I coordinated and originally pitched (no pun intended) regarding Norman Rockwell's 1957 painting, The Rookie (Red Sox Locker Room). You can read more about the origins of the shoot in this extensive Berkshire Eagle article, which I was interviewed for.

This Thursday, May 22, watch CBS Evening News to view the segment, which will include interviews with the painting's original model, Sherm Safford, and tours of the Museum's galleries, archives, and Rockwell's Stockbridge studio, located on our grounds. 

I will write more about the show, the Christie's auction of the painting (to be held on the same day), and my continued efforts as a spokesperson for the Museum. As they say, keep your eye on the ball... and watch this space!

Related Links:

CBS Evening News website

"Rockwell's 'The Rookie' to be featured on CBS News," Berkshire Eagle, May 19, 2014

Spring Training

This week went by fast, and seemed have a common thread... at least when it came to my day job.

Coming up for air... ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

It actually started late last week, as I received a call from a writer with The Detroit Free Press; he was looking for a comment from Norman Rockwell Museum about Jackie Wells, a woman whose portrait Norman Rockwell had painted during his time in Massachusetts. It was around the late 1950s when Rockwell started attending Peggy Best's Sketch Club in Stockbridge, and one of the models the class was to paint/draw from life was Ms. Wells. Not being one of the illustrator's commercial works it seemed a rather obscure inquiry, but having been at the Museum for so many years, it didn't take me long to know exactly who the reporter was referring to.

Wells' portrait is one of the few nudes that Rockwell is known to have created during this mature point in his career; the fact that the model was African-American also makes it stand out during a time when few of the subjects he depicted for the conservative Saturday Evening Post featured people of color (they actually denied him that opportunity). I enjoyed speaking with this reporter, who made me consider how the work prefaced Rockwell's depiction of more diverse subjects during the following decade—I felt I had a lot to offer in terms of thoughtful reflection, and it was interesting to learn about how the model herself went on to inspire people (particularly those battling cancer in the Detroit area). 

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), "The Rookie (Red Sox
Locker Room)," 1957. Norman Rockwell Museum
Digital Collections. ©SEPS: Curtis Publishing,
Indianapolis, IN

This week began with the news that two of the models for Rockwell's humorous Saturday Evening Post cover, "The Rookie (Red Sox Locker Room)" had been celebrated as guests of honor at Boston's Fenway Park. The occasion was to highlight the upcoming Christie's auction of the painting, and what better place than the landmark stadium used by the Red Sox? I knew the painting was to be displayed this week at Fenway, but had I know that the two living models—Sherm Safford and Frank Sullivan—would also be there, I might have insisted on attending. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Safford a couple times; the first being my August 2011 lecture at the George Eastman House on the topic of my videotaped oral histories with Rockwell models. Safford was the main character, "the rookie" in the 1957 painting, and a high school student from Pittsfield when the artist called on him to pose; he now lives in my hometown of Rochester, New York, and was kind enough to do a live interview with me during the lecture. We have kept in touch, and reconnected during the news about the upcoming auction.

I called Safford the day after the Fenway event, after seeing articles about him and Sullivan (a former Red Sox pitcher) during the event. Interestingly enough, the two had never met before, as Rockwell posed Safford separately from the Sox players who also traveled from Boston to his Stockbridge studio. It sounds like he and Sullivan a grand time at Fenway, and it's always nice to learn how these former models are treated. I had been meaning to get in touch with Sullivan, who now lives in Hawaii, and the event made me realize that there was no time like the present.

I gave the Red Sox Hall of Famer a call, inviting him to visit the Museum in Stockbridge if he had the opportunity during his week-long visit in Boston. Unfortunately he was not able, so I inquired about the idea of meeting him in Beantown to record his story, to which he was agreeable. It seemed like a worthwhile pursuit, since a videotaped interview with this former Major Leaguer would add to our important collection of historical recordings, and Boston is a hell of a lot closer than Hawaii.

Cutting to the chase, it didn't happen. During the time it took to seek approval on the meeting, Sullivan went ahead and made other plans (sometimes I wonder if I misunderstand the organization's needs or expectations). Too bad, because the research I conducted on him seemed interesting, and I enjoyed our brief chats on the phone. We might still have the opportunity to talk down the road, but I imagine this may have been my last window to do so in-person. Certainly the news of the upcoming sale of Sullivan's painting will be keeping me busy in the weeks to come.

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), "Willie Gillis in Convoy," 1941.
©Norman Rockwell Family Agency. Courtesy of Sotheby's.

At the same time, out of nowhere, I received an inquiry about another painting going up for auction this month. This time it was a work I wasn't really familiar with, at least not in finished form. In 1941, Rockwell created a new illustration for his popular Willie Gillis series for the Post. Centered around the escapades of the fictional World War II recruit, I knew the series and had even interviewed the original model Bob Buck; I also knew that there was one unpublished illustration for the series that existed as a detailed charcoal study (the image in question).  What I learned was that Rockwell had also completed a fully rendered oil on canvas painting of "Willie Gillis in Convoy," and that it had been in the possession of Gardner High School since the 1950s. A beautifully executed work, this was quite the discovery, and a nice story about how the town is looking to auction off the work for needed funds to support a school scholarship.

Lo and behold, I'm doing more radio and print interviews, and on the front page of today's Boston Globe, talking about the painting and Rockwell's lasting legacy. It was a nice feeling to see my name and title appear so prominently in this major metropolitan newspaper, and one of the other interviews has been circulating through national publications courtesy of The Associated Press.

It felt good to offer my insight and interest for all of these intriguing stories... so why did I end the day feeling largely unfulfilled at work? 

Catching it while I can...
Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

My "moment of Zen" this past week was found away from my desk, running around photographing and filming the spring flowers starting to bloom on our campus. With all my other obligations, it is hard not to feel self-conscious about taking some time to attend to my own creativity. I'm not sure some of my colleagues get it, but it does require special focus to get it right, even for projects intended to benefit the Museum. The magnolia trees are beautiful but fleeting, so I knew I had a short window of opportunity to capture them; the idea is to include a few shots in a planned promotional video highlighting the Museum's year-round offerings... it was nice to give myself the time, and there must be a way to operate similarly in the coming months... who knows what the following day will bring? 

Media Collection:

"Rockwell Painting Kept in Storage in Gardner Heads to Auction," Boston Globe, May 8, 2014

"Norman Rockwell Painting Found at Gardner High School Heads To Auction," WBZ-Radio, May 8, 2014

"Adventurous Spirit of Woman Who Posed for Norman Rockwell Inspires Cancer Survivors," Detroit Free Press, May 6, 2014

"Rockwell Painting Shown at Fenway," Associated Press, May 5, 2014

Cracking The Code

I had a text from my Uncle the other night, saying that he heard me on the radio. Yeah, it's a new age... 

Time to replace magnifying glass with smartphone?...
“Art Critic,” Norman Rockwell, 1955.
Norman Rockwell Museum Collections.
©SEPS: Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN

The occasion was an interview I gave to WAMC, the Albany, NY, NPR affiliate, about local museums' use of technology. It was a perfect time to again highlight our new exhibition, Norman Rockwell: Happily Ever After, which offers visitors the chance to use their phones/tablets to access enhanced content related to the artwork (including my videotaped interviews). This is made possible through QR code links, which really seem to be everywhere nowadays... Sarah was just commenting how she found them on grapes recently in the grocery store. Seriously... grapes?

Anyway, it's an interesting radio segment− you also get to hear a couple of the model interviews I have conducted at the Museum over the years. 

Like the recent Wall Street Journal article, I was interested to hear what other organizations are initiating in terms of technology. The delightfully rural Hancock Shaker Village has even begun installing computer kiosks and renting iPads. I think it must be more of a challenge to preserve the authenticity of a historic site, while bringing in modern tools to assist and engage visitors. Ultimately, it requires good design− it seems pretty obvious when organizations are falling over themselves to bring out the latest technological fad, without any real benefit to the original content.

So what have I been up to this Saturday morning (besides this quick blog post)? Kicking back and enjoying a book. Happy to report that no QR code is required.

Related Links:

"Local Museums Embracing Technology," WAMC Radio, August 15, 2013

"Historical Sites Welcome Kids Who Love to Text," Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2013

Every Picture Tells a Story...

L to R: Norman Rockwell models Ed Locke ("The Runaway"),
Mary Whalen Leonard ("Girl at Mirror"), and Wray Gunn
("New Kids in the Neighborhood"). Photo by Jeremy Clowe
for Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

The June issue of Berkshire Magazine came out last week, and features a nice article about Norman Rockwell's models ("Worth a Thousand Words"), written by my friend/journalist Nichole Dupont. I was interviewed at length for the article, which ties in to the upcoming Models Reunion we are holding at Norman Rockwell Museum on Saturday, July 6, 2013. Once again, the Museum will attempt to gather as many living reference models who worked for the artist as possible... and considering their advancing ages, there's no time like the present!

Since starting at the Museum in 2001, I have initiated videotaped oral histories with the models, which has been one of the more enjoyable parts of my job, and useful in terms of learning more about the artist's process. The seed was really planted during the first models reunion I helped out with back in the summer of 2001. As I mention in the article, "I set up a little corner of the archives room, and people came in and told their stories. Rockwell, in a way, has given a gift to many of these models, and their story continued on after the artwork." The article has a nice plug for the collection of interviews I have posted on the Museum's YouTube page, as well as an interview with model Mary Keefe ("Rosie The Riveter"), who I have interviewed on a couple of occasions.

Actress Stefanie Powers posing with
her portrait created by Norman
Rockwell for the movie Stagecoach.
Photo by Jeremy Clowe for Norman
Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

On a related and interesting note, a couple weeks back I received a surprise call from the production staff of the touring show, Looped, which was playing at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, Connecticut. The lead of the show, actress Stefanie Powers (Hart to Hart) wanted to stop by the Museum and view the portrait Norman Rockwell created of her back in the 1960s for the movie Stagecoach. Accompanied by members of our curatorial staff, I toured her around the Museum and showed her one of the reference paintings as well as dozens of photographs that Rockwell took of Powers and her fellow actors to create separate paintings of the cast, which eventually ended up on the movie poster. While visiting, Powers even agreed to do a videotaped interview with me regarding her experience posing for Norman Rockwell, and her memories of working on the film. She was very gracious... even invited me to see her show in Hartford. Anyway, never know who you will meet at the Museum... I hope to post the interview online sometime soon.


At the moment I am preparing for next week's opening of our exhibition on the art of Walt Disney's Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. I'm busy transcribing my interview with another model: dancer Marge Champion, who served as the live action reference for Snow White's movements. She is being honored with the Fred Astaire Award this upcoming Monday for her achievements in dance... congratulations, Marge!

Related Links:

www.nrm.org

www.youtube.com/normanrockwellmuseum

www.stefaniepowersonline.com

A Norman Rockwell Moment

Well, this certainly was a memorable day... 

A Japanese TV crew visited the Museum today to begin filming a segment on the work of Norman Rockwell. Today was devoted to recreating the scenes depicted in two of Rockwell's most famous paintings−The Marriage License and The Runaway. My friend Mas, the producer, asked me ahead of time if I knew of anyone who could play the part of certain figures in the illustrations...

My friend/Museum volunteer Carlton agreed to play the part of the clerk in The Marriage License. By the time I got to the shoot (held in the Stockbridge Town Hall) he was already suited up and doing several takes, as if he was waiting on the couple stopping in to get their license. He even got a couple lines... it will be interesting to see if they are dubbed over in Japanese! 

Later in the afternoon, my nephew Sam joined us to play the "title character" in Rockwell's 1958 Saturday Evening Post cover illustration, The Runaway. The crew set the scene in Elm Street Market, where I had actually once interviewed the original models for the painting. The production company, Robin/Tani Media Factory, always has a great eye for detail, and they had my nephew fitted with an old-style knapsack (like the boy in the painting), and found a real-life Massachusetts State Trooper to play the kindly cop. They also went beyond the illustration, filming the little runaway walking outside on his journey... Sam did a great job, and we were even greeted unexpectedly by Ed Locke, the original model for the little boy, who just happened to be driving down the street where we were filming!

But the biggest surprise was yet to come. My sister-in-law's boyfriend had confided in me and Sarah the previous week that he had planned to propose to her... however, he was having a tough time figuring out a time when someone could watch after their own separate children, and make it happen. I suggested that he head out to Stockbridge during the shoot, where she would be present with her son. I told him I would figure out some way to get her back to where we had staged The Marriage License earlier in the day (have to thank the production company for their willingness to help us pull it off). After the Runaway shoot, we all walked back over to the town hall, under the pretense that she needed to sign a couple extra appearance forms for her son... When she got there, her guy was waiting for her at the makeshift set that the TV crew had constructed (even Carlton agreed to "reprise" his role as the clerk). It was here that he popped the question (surrounded by members of her family)... luckily, she said yes! 

As I said, it was a fun, memorable day... I truly cherish when I have the opportunity to help make others happy... when I have the chance to do so in a creative way, that's even more satisfying!

All photos ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

Press Released

I have been really slammed at work this week... the usual Thanksgiving time press requests for Norman Rockwell's Freedom From Want... more interest in the Alex Ross exhibition... and a couple different media outlets have discovered my model interviews. Well, that's nice.

For those who haven't seen them, I have posted many on the Rockwell model interviews I have conducted over the years on the Museum's YouTube page: www.youtube.com/normanrockwellmuseum ( and no, I didn't post the clip about the blackberry-eating Labrador). 

Talk To The Hand

Today at work I conducted an interview with a hand model...... yes, it's come to this. And to think, back in 2005 I was on the red carpet at New York Fashion Week... at least the image is cool.

I keep thinking about the White House videographer... wonder what he's up to this week. I didn't watch much of the convention last night, but it sounds like Michelle Obama "knocked it out of the park..." at least that's the term I keep hearing... seriously, find a new metaphor!

Image: atriam.threadless.com (JFMan66)

We Can Do It!

Photo by Jeremy Clowe
for Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

What better way to kick off Labor Day weekend than a visit to the Museum from Rosie The Riveter? That's right--Mary Doyle Keefe, the original model for Norman Rockwell's 1943 painting, stopped by Norman Rockwell Museum today along with her family. As I am often called on to do, I stopped by to say hello and take a few photos. 

I had already met and conducted a video interview with Keefe several years back, and learned that she worked as the town telephone operator when Rockwell, her Arlington, Vermont neighbor, "called" on her to pose (he apologized aferwards for making her look so big and muscular). The illustration appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post on May 29, 1943, and I think it is one of his better images, actually... it's amusing, creative, graphically bold... the figure is even inspired by Michelangelo's painting of Isaah from the Sistene Chapel. 

"Rosie The Riveter," 1943, Norman Rockwell
(1894-1978). Norman Rockwell Digital Collections.
©SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN.
(the original painting recently sold for $4.9 million! 
Now part of the collection of The Crystal Bridges Museum).

Anyway, it's always fun to see people's reactions when one of Rockwell's models enters the Museum. There were several photographs taken, autographs signed (she did the honors for my wife), and her family was happy to share more of her brush with fame.

Keefe actually just turned 90 years old... she looked great and still seemed pretty active... must be from all that hard work. I think she's actually more modest about her time working for Rockwell, so it must be a little tiring to make public appearances at a moment's notice. 

Me? I'm exhausted... as I mentioned, I haven't been sleeping that well this week, but I have also been pushing myself at work and outside on a few projects. A few setbacks, new things learned... but all in all, a decent week. I'm ready to just kick back tonight... ease into the long weekend.

Links:

The Pop History Dig: Norman Rockwell & Rosie The Riveter

Drawing Inspiration: Norman Rockwell in Stockbridge (documentary I created for Norman Rockwell Museum)

Free For All + Fun Friday

If I had my way, every day at my job would unfold like yesterday. 

Norman Rockwell model June Larkin.
Rockwell used her Troy, New York home as the
 reference for his "Homecoming" illustration,
and asked her to pose for the picture. Photo by
Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell Museum.
All rights reserved.

I started the day off by interviewing a former model for Norman Rockwell. Timely actually, because the model, June Larkin, posed for Rockwell's 1945 painting, The Homecoming, which is on a temporary loan to Norman Rockwell Museum. Larkin's family heard about the painting through a news story, which makes me feel that I am doing something right in my job as manager of the Museum's press department. 

The family lives out in the Troy, New York area, which is where Rockwell based his illustration. Larkin shared her memories of meeting the famed artist as he walked around the boarding house where she and her family lived back in the 1940s. Not knowing who he was, she engaged the artist in conversation, and he asked her to pose for a picture he was working on. It wasn't until months later that she realized she had been asked to portray the shy girl standing at the side of the building waiting for the homecoming G.I. on the cover of the May 26, 1945 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. 

Norman Rockwell used Troy, New York, as the backdrop of several of his best-known illustrations back in the 1940s-1950s. Interestingly enough, there are now markers in the city to mark some of the well-known locations of these illustrations. Albany Times Union writer Don Rittner has an interesting blog that talks about Rockwell's association with the "collar city." Larkin's family also tells me of a coffee shop in the city that has reproductions of all Rockwell's Troy illustrations--sadly, it doesn't sound like Larkin gets an unlimited coffee card.

Anyway, I enjoyed learning more about June, and hearing about some of the history of Troy--it is really a fascinating city, that I have enjoyed learning more about. At one time, it was the site of much industrial and manufacturing (Larkin worked in the garment business during World War II-- a real "Rosie the Riveter!"). Here is a WMHT-TV documentary I have been meaning to watch about Uncle Sam's hometown during those war years. I also have my own short film I shot in Troy courtesy of the Arts Center--will have to share that soon.

Photo by Jeremy Clowe
for Norman Rockwell Museum.
All rights reserved.

Yesterday was also Free Fun Friday at the Museum, a special day where our visitors were offered free admission, courtesy of the Highland Street Foundation. We worked with the organization last year and it was a big success, and this year proved no different (they offer free admission to cultural venues throughout Massachusetts during the summer). What was fun about this Friday for me, was that I was asked to go around and take photos of our visitors. I spent most of the day doing so, and there was no shortage of subjects. What I also enjoy about this is that it gives me an opportunity to meet and talk with people--I ran into people from all over the east and west coast who were visiting, including a woman from my hometown of Rochester, New York. I find it fun to be creative while also communicating--it gets you away from being chained to your desk or art table. It was a beautiful day, and I think I got some good shots.

On the topic of photography, I'm looking at some of our great photos from our wedding, and trying to figure out where to collect them. Today I'm also getting ready for our big picnic/party tomorrow. It should be fun, and I look forward to more "Kodak moments" with our friends.  

Related Links:

"Norman Rockwell And Troy Made Beautiful Art Together!" Don Rittner, Albany Times Union, August 8, 2011

No Ordinary Lives: The War Years in Troy, WMHT-TV

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