Posted on 12/05/2013 5:34:42 AM PST by Utah Binger
Norman Rockwell's "Saying Grace" sold on Wednesday for more than $46 million, double its high pre-sale estimate, setting a new auction record for an American painting, Sotheby's said.
"Saying Grace," which shows a Mennonite family praying at a restaurant, was voted the favorite cover by readers of the American magazine The Saturday Evening Post when it was published in 1951.
The previous auction record for an American painting was for "Polo Crowd" by George Bellows, which sold for $27.7 million in 1999.
"This is just a wonderful result for American art and for Rockwell," Elizabeth Goldberg, the head of Sotheby's American Art department, said in an interview.
"It is largely considered one of his great masterpieces," she added.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Now that’s a painting.
By looking at the painting how do we know that they are Mennonites?
My personal favorite Rockwell painting is “Russian Schoolroom”.
That one speaks volumes about oppression and the desire for freedom.
Sure beats that "art" that looks like a well used drop cloth.
Nevertheless, a charming scene. I enjoy most the quizzical but attentive looks from the young gentlemen on the left.
Somebody would be in jail and a magazine would be out of business if this were on the news stands today! Advocating prayer in public?! Offend atheists and Muzzies will you?!
That’s what happens when atheists try to write about Christians. We all look alike to them.
Very true.
My reason for posting this was to point out that money has been migrating in the last few years into assets that are very portable. Many people have more money on their walls than elsewhere.
Art is much better than real estate and it does hold its’ value. And if you need to move you can tuck it under your arm and disappear. In truth it is one of the last bastions of free enterprise.
I found out where the Mennonite idea originated:
“Originally painted for the Thanksgiving issue of the Saturday Evening Post in 1951, Rockwells Saying Grace was named his most popular cover just four years later in a reader poll that coincided with an exhibition of his work at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. A reader originally submitted the basic concept for the composition, writing to the artist about the atypical experience of seeing a Mennonite family praying in a restaurant Rockwell later claimed that while he received thousands of suggestions for covers from readers, he used only four over the course of his career.”
I.e.: the reader who sent in the suggestion saw Mennonites. Rockwell painted it as he saw it in his mind’s eye [i.e.: w a more generalized depiction of Christians], hence the confusion.
> Now thats a painting.
The detail in that painting is awesome as are alll Rockwell paintings. From the cigarette butt on the floor to the dishes sitting next to the patron. There is even detail in the curtains that shows the scenery outside. The man was a master at capturing iconic moments in history on a canvass.
Our culture isn’t dead yet.
I hope you are right.
I would say Catholics. Who but Catholics would bow their heads and pray before a meal. My husband, I , and our five children would all do it in a restaurant when we were traveling.
I saw the NORMAN ROCKWELL exhibit at the Crystal Bridges gallery at Bentonville Arkansas a few months ago. It was worth it! Fascinating to stand before those “commercial” art and be awed! You see details there that are missed in the prints.
Crystal Bridges has the painting ROSIE THE RIVETER on permanent display.
The plane shouldn’t be there.
No painting is worth $46 million. With the direction the planet is going, anything Christian will not be worth a plug nickle in a generation.
The $46 million price only indicates the low value (in gold) of the US dollar, not the value of the painting.
Wow, get over yourself already.
> The plane shouldnt be there.
No painting is worth $46 million. With the direction the planet is going, anything Christian will not be worth a plug nickle in a generation.
Let me guess, you didn’t like the Mona Lisa either ecause she wasn’t smiling enough, right?...lol
I still think it’s a great work...: )
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.