STOCKBRIDGE, MASS.- Beloved as he was during his six-decade career, artist Norman Rockwell found himself a "man out of time” when it came to many of the prevailing trends taking place in the art world. He famously commented that, "I love it when I get admiring letters from people. And, of course, I'd love it if the critics would notice me, too," yet acknowledged his place in the art world: "My ability evidently lies in telling stories, and modern art doesn’t go in much for that sort of thing."

For the first time, Norman Rockwell Museum explores the contrast between the abstract and realist movements, placing works by Rockwell, Wyeth, and Warhol side by side with Pollock, Calder, Johns, and over 40 other preeminent artists. On view from June 17 through October 30, 2016, "Rockwell and Realism in an Abstract World" examines the forces that forged the mid-century dismissal of narrative painting and illustration, as well as the resurgence of realist painting during the latter half of the twentieth century, its presence and critical consideration today, and the ways in which our contemporary viewpoints have been shaped by post World War II constructs.

"In the 1950s, there was heated debate about the relative merits of abstract art, realist art, and popular illustration, and Norman Rockwell was frequently caught in the crossfire," notes Norman Rockwell Museum Director/CEO Laurie Norton Moffatt. "The symbolic artist against whom the art world turned, Rockwell even tried his own hand at modernism in his Jackson Pollock-styled painting 'The Connoisseur,' which will be featured in the exhibition, on loan from a private collection. We look forward to exploring this rebellious turning point in American art, when many artists rejected Rockwell’s version of realism and invented a nonrepresentational artistic vocabulary."

"When Norman Rockwell and his illustrator colleagues worked to enliven the pages of American magazines, they were pushing against the tide," explains Museum Deputy Director/Chief Curator Stephanie Plunkett. "By the late 1940s, shifts in technology—which brought the world to the masses through photography and television—and challenges by modernist art idioms, conspired to relegate conventional illustration to a lesser status. Traditional narrative illustration was a waning discipline, and though Rockwell was a hero to many, he was also an institution to younger artists who viewed him as the old guard. For all of his complexity, Rockwell became a catalyst for change for illustrators seeking to blur the lines between fine and applied art."

In post-World War II America, the primacy of abstract art was clearly acknowledged, and by 1961, when Rockwell painted 'The Connoisseur,' Abstract Expressionism had been covered in the popular press for nearly 15 years. Originated in the 1940s by Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Barnett Newman, and Mark Rothko, among others, Abstract Expressionism was the first American movement to achieve widespread international influence.

While 'The Connoisseur' juxtaposes the conservative with the avant-garde, it offers no clues to Rockwell’s opinion of modern art. "You don’t know what he’s thinking," he said of the viewer whose face he did not snow. Willem de Kooning reportedly commented that, "Square inch by square inch, it’s better than Jackson!"

After completing the work, Rockwell submitted a section of one of his studies to an exhibition at the Cooperstown Art Association in New York, signing the canvas with an Italian signature. It took first place for painting, and another section of the abstract study, signed under his middle name Percival, won honorable mention at an exhibition at the Berkshire Museum. Three painterly studies for "The Connoisseur" are featured in this new exhibition.

"Rockwell and Realism in an Abstract World" features the art of prominent illustrators, painters, and sculptors whose autographic art spans more than 60 years, representing many dynamic forms of visual communication. Featured artists include: Marshall Arisman, Bo Bartlett, Austin Briggs, Alexander Calder, Alan E. Cober, Robert Cottingham, Robert Cunningham, Joe De Mers, Walton Ford, Eric Forstmann, Helen Frankenthaler, Bernie Fuchs, Sam Francis, Edwin Georgi, George Giusti, Ralph Goings, Cleve Grey, Brad Holland, Dan Howe, Jasper Johns, Jeff Koons, Anita Kunz, Jacqui Morgan, Robert Motherwell, Barbara Nessim, Barnett Newman, Tim O’Brien, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen, Al Parker, Bob Peak, Philip Pearlstein, Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, Larry Rivers, Norman Rockwell, James Rosenquist, David Salle, Saul Steinberg, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, Robert Weaver, Thomas Woodruff, Andrew Wyeth, and Jamie Wyeth. The exhibition is sponsored by TD Bank.

Artworks have generously been placed on loan by Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Sheldon Museum of Art, Society of Illustrators Museum of American Illustration, Estate of Roy Lichtenstein, Jane Eckert Fine Art, Betty Cunningham Gallery, Pace Gallery, P.P.O.W. Gallery, Illustrated Gallery, Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE), Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Seven Bridges Foundation, Saul Steinberg Foundation, John V. Frank, Ellen Cober, Lynn Kearcher and Carl Chaiet, Sandy and George Garfunkel, Andrew Nelson, Phyllis and Jamie Wyeth, and several private collectors.

Recent acquisitions to the Museum’s expansive collection of original illustration art also are included in this exhibition, including works by Barbara Nessim, Joe De Mers, Robert Cunningham, Robert Weaver, Anita Kunz, Jacqui Morgan, Robert Peak, Bernie Fuchs, and George Giusti. An exhibition video, produced by the Museum, present insights from contemporary critics and artists included in the exhibition.