FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Opens November 23, 2024

Stockbridge, Mass.––October 17, 2024––Norman Rockwell Museum is honored to present Illustrators of Light: Rockwell, Wyeth, and Parrish from the Edison Mazda Collection, an exhibition featuring a rare series of paintings created to illustrate early twentieth-century lighting advertisements. This special exhibition highlights the artworks of Rockwell and fellow Golden Age illustrators Maxfield Parrish, N.C. Wyeth, Dean Cornwell, Stanley Arthurs, Worth Brehm, and Charles Chambers. On view from November 23, 2024, through January 4, 2026, Illustrators of Light: The Edison Mazda Collection celebrates the innovative spirit of Edison Mazda Lamps (a division of General Electric) through luminous artworks exalting the warmth and impact of incandescent light. Sixteen original works, including eight by Rockwell, are on loan for the first time through the generosity of GE Aerospace and were previously displayed privately at Nela Park, the headquarters for General Electrics Lighting division in Cleveland, Ohio.

“This series of masterworks by Rockwell represents some of his finest art for advertising, made possible through a relationship with EdisonMazda Lamps that supported his quest for artistic excellence,” said Norman Rockwell Museum Chief Curator Stephanie Plunkett. “Knowing that his work would be in the company of successful illustrators like Maxfield Parrish, N.C. Wyeth, and Dean Cornwell, among others, Rockwell was challenged to do his absolute best.”

In 1920, Rockwell was commissioned to create a series of paintings to promote Edison Mazda’s tungsten filament light bulbs, which revolutionized lighting by offering a brighter and more dependable alternative to carbon filament bulbs. Inspired by the legacy of Thomas Edison and the ancient Persian god Ahura Mazda, these advertisements celebrate the transformative power of electric light in everyday life.

The paintings, widely circulated in publications like The Saturday Evening Post and Ladies’ Home Journal, exemplify Rockwell’s advertising artistry, showcasing his ability to evoke warmth, beauty, and nostalgia through visual storytelling. The exhibition will include published tear sheets and artifacts that highlight the unique and emotive messaging of the Edison Mazda advertising campaign.

Background on Edison Mazda Lamp Works
Edison Mazda patented their version of the tungsten bulb in 1906 and strove to replace carbon filament bulbs with a brighter, more dependable product. First introduced in 1909, Edison Mazda’s moniker was inspired by the work of Thomas Edison, who built his first high resistance, incandescent electric light in 1879, and by Ahura Mazda, the ancient Persian god associated with wisdom and light.

Background on Edison Mazda ad campaign
A young Norman Rockwell worked with Bruce Barton of Barton, Durstine & Osborn (now BBDO) on the project. The New York agency was tasked with marketing Edison Mazdabulbs through a series of ads emphasizing the virtues of electric light. Barton’s poetic copy and the imagery created by Rockwell and other artists were synthesized to convey the beauty, wonder, and life-changing qualities of light, making the campaign an unequivocal success.

Barton’s carefully composed narratives were paired with the art of America’s top illustrators who offered varied interpretations of his advertising text—a couple is illuminated by the glow of a lamp, guests feel the warmth of welcome at a well-lit home, and children learn and play in bright domestic spaces. Rockwell contributed at least twenty illustrations, painted over a seven-year period from 1920 to 1927. In addition to being used in print ads, at least one appeared as a calendar illustration while others were reproduced on blotters, popular marketing tools in a period when letters and signatures written with fountain pen ink needed to be set.

“The art director of the series was so pleased with the success of the ad campaign that in 1921, Rockwell was invited to join an all-expense-paid tour of Edison Mazda’s South American affiliates,” said Plunkett. “Rockwell later credited the trip for inspiring his wanderlust and a lifelong love of travel.”

EXHIBITION RELATED PROGRAMS

Exhibition Opening: “Illustrators of Light: The Edison Mazda Collection”
Friday, December 6, from 5 to 7 pm
Sharing Light: Exhibition Opening & Holiday Reception
Join NRM for a festive evening celebrating the exhibition of rarely-seen paintings in Illustrators of Light: Rockwell, Wyeth, and Parrish from the Edison Mazda Collection. Enjoy informal gallery tours with Chief Curator Stephanie Haboush Plunkett and holiday treats and libations. Also featuring Norman Rockwell’s holiday paintings and Stockbridge Village recreation. $35; Members free. Reservations and tickets at NRM.org/events.

Saturday, December 21 at 11:30 am
Curatorial Gallery Tour
See the Light: From Maxfield Parrish to Norman Rockwell
Join exhibition Curator Stephanie Haboush Plunkett for an in-depth tour of a rarely exhibited collection of work by Norman Rockwell and Golden Age illustrators Maxfield Parrish, N.C. Wyeth, Dean Cornwell, Stanley Arthurs, Worth Brehm, and Charles Chambers.  See how Rockwell and other artists depicted the wonder and beauty of electric light in a series of paintings originally created for Edison Mazda Lamps, the division of the General Electric Company that manufactured light bulbs. $20 plus Museum admission; $10 Members. Reservations and tickets at NRM.org/events.