Keepers of the Flame: Parrish, Wyeth, Rockwell, and the Narrative Tradition

Exhibition Website

Jun 9 2018 - Oct 28 2018

     

Artists N. C. Wyeth, Maxfield Parrish, and Norman Rockwell are three of the most recognized narrative picture makers of the past century, yet they have often been ignored in discussions of the history of art. 

This exhibition will offer compelling evidence of their positions as the offspring of the European narrative tradition, direct descendants of a five hundred year long, unbroken line of teachers and students. Rockwell, Wyeth, and Parrish painted heartwarming tales, grand adventures, and elaborately conceived fantasies with the same principles and techniques of their ancestral mentors, creating iconic imagery and unforgettable narratives, defining them as true inheritors of the rich lineage of traditional Western painting. 

In addition to the art of these three illustration masters, original works by Fra Filippo Lippi, Jeon Leon Gérôme, Carle Van Loo, Thomas Eakins, Thomas Anschutz, Howard Pyle, Frank Vincent DuMond, and others will be featured.


Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website
Image left: Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Girl at Mirror, 1954. Oil on canvas, 31 1/2" x 29 1/2". Cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, March 6, 1954 Norman Rockwell Museum Collection. ©SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN 
Image right: Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966), Enchantment [Cinderella], c. 1914. Oil on panel, 29" x 23". Cover illustration for Harper's Bazaar, March 1914. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions (HA.com). 
  • Painting
  • International
  • N.C. Wyeth
  • Norman Rockwell
  • Maxfield Parrish
  • Fra Filippo Lippi
  • Jean-Léon Gérôme
  • Thomas Eakins
  • Howard Pyle
  • and others

Exhibition Venues & Dates