The Shelburne Museum has acquired three paintings from famed illustrator Norman Rockwell that celebrate Vermont鈥檚 granite industry.
The paintings 鈥� Kneeling Girl (1955), The Craftsman (1962) and a preliminary sketch for The Craftsman 鈥� were commissioned by the Rock of Ages Corporation in Barre for advertising campaigns.
Rock of Ages and its parent company, Polycor Inc., of Quebec City, donated the works to the museum. They will be on display when the museum reopens to the public on May 10.
Kneeling Girl features a young girl kneeling before a gravestone. The Craftsman captures a longtime Rock of Ages stonecutter in a moment of focus. Rockwell included a nod to himself in the painting 鈥� the name 鈥淣orwell鈥� is engraved on the headstone featured in the work.
The works once hung in the Rock of Ages headquarters in Graniteville.
鈥淣orman Rockwell鈥檚 ability to blend artistry with storytelling is unparalleled, and these paintings offer a unique glimpse into both his creative process and Vermont鈥檚 industrial heritage,鈥� said Thomas Denenberg, the John Wilmerding Director of Shelburne Museum, in a prepared statement.
The paintings represent a merger of two Vermont icons.
Rockwell is one of America鈥檚 best known artists, renowned for his idealistic depictions of 20th century life.
He lived in Arlington from 1939 to 1953. More than 200 or inspired his works in that time.
鈥淎s long as my fundamental purpose is to interpret the typical American, Arlington affords the ideal residence,鈥� 鈥淔rom this calm vantage point, far from the cities with their crowds and clamor, I view things with detachment and serenity; also I can go about my task with a minimum of interruption and with the knowledge that right here are exactly the models needed for my purpose 鈥� the sincere, honest, homespun types that I love to paint. Now my pictures grew out of the world around me, the everyday life of my neighbors.鈥�
Rock of Ages is a granite quarrying and finishing company founded in 1885. It drew thousands of immigrants from Italy and other European nations to Barre in the early to mid 20th century and was once one of Vermont鈥檚 largest employers. an internationally renowned quarry and sculpting operation centered around the 600-foot-deep E.L. Smith Quarry, the largest deep-hole dimension granite quarry operating in the world.
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