Existing comment:
Norman Rockwell
My Adventures as an Illustrator 'I Rise from the Ashes' 1959
Ink on paper
In the middle of the night on May 15, 1943, Rockwell's son Tom awoke to see the studio in flames. He banged on his father's bedroom door yelling, "Pop, the studio's on fire." Because the phone was wired through the studio, the line was already dead and Rockwell couldn't call for help. Sending his hired man to the nearest neighbor to summon the fire department, Rockwell dashed to the studio to see what he could save. Suddenly, rifle cartridges and shotgun shells kept in a drawer in the studio started exploding. Rockwell and his family could only stand and watch while flames consumed the studio and most of the adjacent barn. Lost were a dozen of Rockwell's favorite paintings, a collection of costumes, props, artist materials, reference files, prints, books and antique guns. Rather than rebuild, Rockwell bought a house nearer to town and hired a carpenter to build a new studio. With three young boys, the Rockwell family was ready to be closer to the activity of the community; the friendship of the Edgerton family next door was an added bonus. Rockwell was so convincing in his rationalization of how the setback had been beneficial by forcing him to reexamine his work, that fellow illustrator Mead Schaeffer said he was nearly convinced to burn down his own studio. |