Description: ca. 1975 offset lithograph (poster print), "Home for Christmas (Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas)" after Rockwell, signed in the plate lower right "Norman Rockwell" and hand-signed in blue ink pen "Sincerely, Norman Rockwell". I've checked it under a jeweler's loupe and it's not a printed signature. The mat opening / window size is: 8 7/8 x 28 3/8 inches. Overall size with frame: approx. 13 3/8 x 33 1/4 inches. There will be no glass included. This means that after it sells, I'll be removing and discarding the glass (for safety in shipping purposes). Better safe than sorry. Most local hardware stores cut glass to whatever size you want and sell it to you, which is cheaper than going to a framer. Print, frame, matting, backer, and papering with label will be included. This scene by our great master of illustration art, Norman Rockwell, represents Christmastime in America. In a way, it also represents Thanksgiving because Alice's Restaurant, from the Arlo Guthrie song, is in the alley to the right of the insurance office. "Home for Christmas has come to symbolize Christmas in America, just as Rockwell intended..."; "Norman Rockwell takes you on a Christmas Eve walk along Stockbridge's main street-past the public library, the antiques and gift shops, the insurance office, the supermarket behind its Greek-revival facade: past the barbershop, the old town office, the new town bank and down the rambling Victorian hotel, beyond which is Rockwell's own studio"; "Established in 1773 as a stagecoach stop, the Red lion Inn has always been the social hub of town. Rockwell's South Street home and studio appear at the far right border. In a window above the market, a Christmas tree glows in a room that was Rockwell's studio from 1953 to 1957. The Old Corner House, which became the home of the first Norman Rockwell Museum two years after the painting was completed, stands at the left border". Note: Original, period prints like the one here show the scene somewhat cropped on the left and right sides. "The original restaurant owned by Alice Brock from Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant” is down an alley off Main Street in Stockbridge. The original movie "Alice's Restaurant" also was filmed here". The place known as "Alice's Restaurant", located at 40 Main Street in Stockbridge, MA. was actually called The Back Room. Alice owned the establishment at that time, making it Alice's restaurant". See picture posted, but Alice's Restaurant was down the alley between the insurance office and the supermarket (general store). I've seen a couple other examples of this print that've sold at auction over the years. They were from the mid-1970's, 1975 or 1976, hand signed, "Sincerely, Norman Rockwell". Two that I saw online, from different consignors, were acquired specifically on July 12 (of either '75 or '76, but probably 1975). Maybe Rockwell was doing a meet the artist / signing event on that date, or it's a coincidence. At the time, the original Norman Rockwell Museum there, called The Old Corner House, sold signed prints and autographed books by Rockwell. All prints of this image, size, age, distinct signature, etc., essentially have Norman Rockwell provenance. Back then, the prints didn't come with a certificate. Today, the museum still sells signed prints and all of them now do come w/ 'papers' from the current director, even though their site also says they do not offer 'authentication' services. If the museum won't certify prints (other than those they're selling now) that they sold before they started certifying things, then I guess it's impossible to get that kind of paperwork for them. This leaves someone who requires some sort of document with two choices. They could simply acquire a print from the museum today. Or, BEFORE purchasing, they could pay the ten bucks to a company like BAS/Beckett for a quick online review of an item like the print offered here, and take it from there. Going all the way would involve another service from them, plus shipping both ways, and these things will cost you money. Before it was The Norman Rockwell Museum, a place called The Old Corner House opened to the public on May 31, 1969. Mr. Rockwell was there, nicely dressed, and the opening featured 35 of his paintings. You can see this in pictures I posted, per the timeline on the Rockwell Four Freedoms (org) site. The Old Corner House organization was the result of concerned citizens in Stockbridge, Massachusetts circa 1967 wanting to save a historic building from it's poor condition and probably being demolished. They didn't really know what they were going to do with the place at the time, but Mr. Rockwell came up with the idea: "Would you like to hang some of my pictures?". There were various people involved in the early years. One of them was Mr. Rockwell's wife, Molly Punderson, a retired English teacher from Milton Academy. Mr. Rockwell met her at a poetry class she held in Stockbridge. They married in 1961. New York Times Feb 9, 1986: "Mr. Rockwell's work is currently on view at the Old Corner House, a historic building in the center of town that Mrs. Rockwell among others sought to save in 1967. The building has evolved into a local museum for Mr. Rockwell's paintings, with space for the display of some 40 works from a collection of about 500. It has attracted some 100,000 visitors each year". Besides Norman and Molly Rockwell, others involved were Rosamond Sherwood, Norma Ogden, and Patricia Deely. I can't find much period background info on the net, but the group who sought to save the building was in essence the local historical society. They may have conceived the idea as The Old Corner House being a headquarters for a historical society, but from the opening day it was really a museum featuring Norman Rockwell's work. "The museum traces it roots to the late 1960s, when Rockwell, a native New Yorker who moved from Arlington, Vermont to Stockbridge in 1953 and lived his last 25 years there, established a trust to preserve his artistic legacy by placing his works in the custodianship of the Old Corner House Stockbridge Historical Society, later to become Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge. For its first twenty-four years, the museum was located at the Old Corner House on Stockbridge’s Main Street, a building that Rockwell and other townspeople helped preserve and which provided 3,000 square feet of exhibition space". "In 1973, Rockwell established a trust to preserve his artistic legacy by placing his works in the custodianship of the Old Corner House Stockbridge Historical Society, later to become the Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge. The trust now forms the core of the museum's permanent collections". Bear in mind, that was a couple years before 1975-76, when Mr. Rockwell would've signed the print offered here. The Old Corner House went from a go-to place to see Rockwell paintings to a place that would also legally possess the artworks when he passed on. December 21, 1975, by Jay Walz, New York Times: "The Old Corner House in Stockbridge, a restored Colonial residence that is the headquarters for the Stockbridge Historical Society, houses the only collection of Norman Rockwell original paintings on permanent public exhibition. On sale are autographed prints, reproductions and autographed books by the artist. Open 10 A.M. to P.M., except Tuesday, Christmas and New Year's Day (admission, $1 for adults and 25 cents for children)". Around the time (or soon after) that Norman Rockwell signed this print and the few others I've seen on the market, in 1976, the artist became concerned about the future of his studio. He arranged to have his studio and its contents added to the trust. That was a big thing. It reminds me of a living history museum feature. Mr. Rockwell suffered a fall around 1977 and wasn't able to sign his prints anymore. He passed away in 1978. Norman Rockwell didn't own The Old Corner House, but it was the "permanent home of original paintings by Norman Rockwell". These kinds of non-profit organizations need cash flow to survive. Realistically, this one would have very little without Mr. Rockwell. I highly doubt he made them buy anything from him. I assume The Old Corner House had it in the budget to stock some prints and books as mentioned in the 1975 NY Times write-up. But, those wouldn't come autographed or signed. The organization needed Mr. Rockwell to take care of that, and clearly he gladly did that. I don't know how much, if anything, Mr. Rockwell personally paid for, except that what he entrusted to The Old Corner House for free would've been otherwise easily salable for him to make money from... "In 1968, Bernard Danenberg did an extraordinary thing; he put Norman Rockwell’s “Saying Grace” in the window of his gallery, along with 40 other paintings by Rockwell. The exhibition was reappraisal. His oils, original lithographs plates and figurines are sold out and become collector’s pieces immediately". When I think of 'provenance', I think: "whose hands did this pass through?". It's not always 'somebody bought it' or 'somebody sold it', since that wouldn't account for gifts, family provenance, etc. Mr. Rockwell's face was familiar to all Americans. He was famous. I highly doubt he was stopping by The Old Corner House on a daily basis, but maybe he checked in there once a week or something. It was a short walk there from his house. I figure that he'd at least need to stop by regarding prints and books. Maybe he signed them at home and brought them by or he did that at The Old Corner House. Or, maybe he sat in Alice's Restaurant and did it (?!). Tens of thousands of people visited (what was to become called) The Norman Rockwell Museum every year. People who could afford it bought signed Rockwell items. The artist had to keep them stocked. As for the prints, we don't know if it was Rockwell himself or The Old Corner House organization that arranged for printing, specs, quantities to be made, etc. Clearly he couldn't sign through glass, so the prints were unframed when Norman Rockwell signed them. Today, the museum sells new, (unsigned) prints that are already framed and matted, but I don't know if they did that back in 1975, or not, or if it was an option. All we know is that Rockwell had his way with the prints, signing however he'd like, in pencil, marker, or pen, and either inscribed to a specific person (or family) or to anyone ("Sincerely,"). If he didn't own the prints, he at least owned rights to the images. So, if you bought one of the prints, from/at what was to become his namesake museum, that he took the time to personally sign, and what he was signing was something he owned the rights to (artists rights) plus directly passed through his hands, that sounds like 'direct from the artist provenance' to me. The idea on the prints from Norman Rockwell at The Old Corner House was that you could get a signed Rockwell for a reasonable price. See pictures posted, but today, the museum still sells signed prints (that they get on consignment) and they're not cheap. In the late 60's and early 70's, Rockwell oil paintings that were for sale had been sold through Bernard Danenberg Galleries, 1000 Madison Avenue, New York City. I'm sure they cost a fortune, but whatever the amount, it would been nothing compared to today's prices. In 2013, Rockwell's painting 'Saying Grace' sold for $46 million at Sotheby’s New York to George Lucas of Star Wars fame. Another idea with the signed Rockwell prints was that they were manageable in size. The oil painting version of "Home for Christmas (Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas)", which Rockwell worked on from 1956-1967, measures 26 1/2 x 95 1/2 inches. That's very large, around 8 feet long. See pictures posted from the net, but it has it's own wall in The Norman Rockwell Museum.
Price: 1100 USD
Location: Pitman, New Jersey
End Time: 2024-08-26T00:18:59.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Unit of Sale: Single Piece
Image Orientation: Landscape
Size: Large
Signed: Yes
Period: Post-War (1940-1970)
Material: Paper
Certificate of Authenticity (COA): No
Framing: Matted & Framed
Region of Origin: Massachusetts, USA
Original/Licensed Reprint: Original
Subject: Automobile, Boys, Christmas, Cityscapes, Family, Famous Paintings/Painters, Figures, Landscape, Men, Seasons, States & Counties, USA, Women
Type: Print
Item Height: 13 3/8 in
Theme: Americana, Architecture, Art, Automobilia, Cities & Towns, Community Life, Domestic & Family Life, Famous Places, Fashion, Holidays, Patriotic, People, Social History, Topographical
Style: Americana, Figurative Art, Illustration Art, Realism
Features: 1st Edition
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Production Technique: Lithography
Handmade: No
Culture: American
Item Width: 33 1/4 in
Time Period Produced: 1970-1979
