24127

NORMAN ROCKWELL (American 1894-1978)

Currency:USD Category:Art Start Price:2,250.00 USD Estimated At:200,000.00 - 250,000.00 USD
NORMAN ROCKWELL (American 1894-1978)
<B>NORMAN ROCKWELL (American 1894-1978)</B></I><BR>Freedom of the Press: Poor Richard's Almanac, c.1930 <BR>Oil on canvas 32in. x 27in.<BR>Inscribed lower right (not contemporaneously): Norman Rockwell<BR>Signed on canvas fragment attached on stretcher bar: Norman Rockwell<BR>Photocopy of letter from Norman Rockwell to Mr. Yotnakparian dated March 6, 1973 accompanies this work. <BR>Viewed and accepted by Laurie Moffat, Director of the Rockwell Museum.<BR>Provenance: the collection of Mr. Yotnakparian, c. 1973; Roughton Galleries, Dallas, Texas <BR><BR><I>Freedom of the Press</B></I> (also known as <I>Poor Richards Almanac</B></I>) may also have been intended as part of Rockwell's original Freedom series, however it was never used. The painting belonged to the same family for over 50 years. In an accompanying photocopy of a letter from Norman Rockwell to the owner, Rockwell wrote "I did the picture . . . when I lived in New Rochelle. I don't remember who posed for Ben Franklin, but I know the printer in back of him was one of my favorite models, Fred Hildebrandt." <BR><BR>Norman Rockwell is America's most beloved illustrator of the 20th century. Renowned for his idyllic images of daily life in small town America, Rockwell explained in his autobiography, "I paint life as I would like it to be." Rockwell was born in New York City into a family of humble circumstances. In 1903, his family moved to Mamaroneck, New York a suburban town in Westchester County where they resided in a succession of boarding houses. While still in high school, Rockwell decided to pursue a career as an illustrator, and in 1908, he commuted to New York City to study at the Chase School of Fine and Applied Art. At the age of 15, he quit high school and enrolled in the National Academy of Design. However, he found the Academy's curriculum was geared toward the fine arts, and Rockwell left after a year to study illustration at the Art Students League under George Bridgman and Thomas Fogarty. <BR><BR>The most comprehensive collection of his work can be found at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge. <BR><BR><Condition: original, unlined canvas on original stretchers, areas of inpaint in Franklin's arm, shoulder, and letter. Inpaint above 2nd man's head, lower right corner, and middle upper left edge. Signature on front fluoresces under blacklight, but the signature on back fragment does not fluoresce. It appears that several years ago the painting was trimmed to fit in a frame and the original signature is now affixed to the verso stretcher bar. The painting was later resigned lower right.> 2 items <BR><BR><B>Important notice:</B> Heritage usually auctions material at the rate of 200-250 lots per hour. On some occasions eBay Live bid software or the Internet may not be able to keep up with the pace of the auction. We recommend placing a realistic absentee bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally the auctioneer may eliminate or reject an eBay Live bid, and the auctioneer may also reopen a lot after the close of the eBay live bidding (usually because we missed an audience bid), and may reject your bid even if it shows you as the winning bidder. By bidding via eBay Live, you agree that Heritage may award the lot to another bidder at its sole discretion under the circumstances described above or any other reasonable circumstances. Since eBay bids are not shown to us until we open the lot on the floor, we treat those bids just like floor bids. In most cases the floor responds before the eBay bid is presented to us, due to Internet lag time, so for consistency we have made it a policy that floor bids are always considered first over tie eBay live bids. Also please note that all Heritage lots purchased through eBay Live carry a 24.5% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before you bid.