Day 4.264: Norman Rockwell

With a number of options rained-off and a strong desire to get out of the house on a rare free Saturday, we decided to brave the suddenly cold weather and made an often-considered trip to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge MA.  We were fairly sure that it would be a good fit for Exile #3, but were not so sure how Exile #4 and E5N1 would find it, but we all had a very good time.

There is no photography allowed in the galleries, but I will try to give you a flavour.  The museum clearly has a huge collection, but still manages to be compact and manageable and to pack in a lot of variety in its visiting exhibits.   As far as "Mr Rockwell" (as they generally seem to refer to him) - there are a number of works on what I suppose are permanent display including the four freedoms and a at least 300 covers spanning more than forty years of the Saturday Evening Post.  They also have, at the moment, a room filled with his pictures that include dogs - a great way to pick a range of his work from the collection to display.

Alongside all of that, is a fascinating and large exhibit about Blue Sky Studios - the animators behind Robots, Ice Age and Rio.  There is lots of hands-on stuff and plenty to interest adults and children alike. Downstairs is a small but well-stocked "Creativity Zone" and a collection of drawings of musicians by Sol Schwartz (which I loved).

Outside, where I could take photographs is a collection of sculptures of robots. If you'd like to, you can see if you can identify (or at least revel in the puns of):

A - Robot Sam - a true Ameri-Can
B - Mom Bot and Tots
C - Regal Robot
D - David
E - Robo 88
F - The Shaman
G - The Knight
H - Mr. Fahrenheit
I - Huckleberry Tin
J - The Custodian

in this rogues gallery:

Also in the grounds is Mr Rockwell's studio, which was moved here - in one piece - on the back of a flatbed truck.  We encountered one of several excellent guides there - all of whom seemed to be very dynamic and ready to engage the children and make things accessible to them.

You can see the workshop below - the green robot is keeping an eye on it.

"Please tell your friends!" the sign says.  Consider yourself told!