February 2009
Norman Rockwell Museum has announced the establishment of the Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies, America’s first research institute devoted to the field of American illustration art.
The Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies (RCAVS) will bring new scholarly attention—and resources—to the art of illustration, a hugely influential aspect of American visual culture that is only now being studied and appreciated.
Through creating new online research tools and collections access, supporting scholarship, and spurring the collection and preservation of important artworks, RCAVS will establish a context for understanding the role of illustration art in shaping and reflecting American culture.
“Illustration is the quintessential American visual art,” said Laurie Norton Moffatt, Director/CEO of Norman Rockwell Museum.
“From the Civil War to the present, it has commanded the power of mass communication to help unite and define a vast nation of diverse people and interests. Academic institutions and museums are beginning to recognize the influence and significance of the art presented in magazines, books, newspapers, comics, advertisements, billboards, and, now, increasingly, in electronic media.”
“We see a need and an opportunity for Norman Rockwell Museum to play a convening role in the field—to bring together scholars, curators, and collectors to study, examine, present, and preserve illustration art. Ultimately, our vision is one of catalyzing a deep and lasting body of illustration art scholarship and a new generation of scholars and curators—as well as museum goers—deeply engaged by this field,” said Moffatt.
The endeavor builds on the Museum’s history and accomplishments of 40 years—its internationally recognized stewardship of the art and archives of Norman Rockwell, America’s preeminent illustrator; its innovative work in digitizing the Museum’s art and archival holdings to make the “complete Rockwell” available to scholars and the public online; and its distinguished role as the nation’s leading presenter of illustration art through exhibitions and publications.
“In addition to presenting our core Rockwell collections, the Museum has exhibited the work of more than 420 illustration artists over the past 15 years,” said Stephanie Haboush Plunkett, Chief Curator and Deputy Director of Norman Rockwell Museum, and a national authority on illustration art.
“With the founding of America’s first institute dedicated to the art of illustration, we have formalized our long-standing commitment to the field and created opportunities for collaboration and participation in the study and appreciation of an art form that continues to educate, inform, and dazzle Americans and people around the world.”
Launched during the Museum’s 40th anniversary year, RCAVS integrates existing projects at the Museum—such as ProjectNORMAN, the Museum’s 10-year digital archiving and online publishing project—and initiates new endeavors.
The launch of RCAVS is funded by a $150,000 pilot grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). ProjectNORMAN, a core program of RCAVS, has received $1.5 million in funding from various foundations and federal agencies to-date.
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