STOCKBRIDGE, MASS.- Among Norman Rockwell’s best-known illustrations are heartwarming scenes that capture the essence of American holiday traditions celebrated throughout the year⸺from Valentine’s Day and Independence Day to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the magic of the Christmas season.

This exhibition explores Rockwell’s ongoing connection to holiday-inspired art, which can be traced to his youth, when at the age of fifteen, a parishioner of his family’s church employed his talents for Christmas card designs. As an adult, Rockwell would become a fixture at Hallmark, a company that continues to market his midcentury illustrations for holiday greeting cards. The Saturday Evening Post, which showcased his art for forty-seven years, typically delegated Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s covers to its most talented and popular illustrators. During Rockwell’s first year with the magazine in 1916, his work was featured on a December cover, and subsequently, the front pages of many additional holiday issues were assigned to him. Seasonal rituals and snowy New England landscapes are viewed through the eyes of homecoming veterans and cheerful, intergenerational families who inhabit Rockwell’s artworks.

Throughout his career, Rockwell considered a strong visual story concept was “the first thing and the last ,” no matter the subject. He often told reporters that despite his unending work schedule, he indulged himself by taking a half-day off on Christmas. Though he used his own art to embellish seasonal cards for friends and family, he was not overly sentimental about the holidays. He viewed turkey carving as “a challenge rather than an invitation,” and he once remarked, “I’ve never played Santa Claus in my life. I wouldn’t dare to.” Holiday festivities were prominently featured in Rockwell’s work, and inspired readers to consider how their own experiences reflected, or stood in contrast, to those portrayed in his art.

“The commonplaces of America are to me the richest subjects in art.” ⸺Norman Rockwell