Election Weary? Norman Rockwell Museum offers Post-Election Recovery Day featuring special programs to soothe the soul

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For further information:

Jeremy Clowe
Manager of Media Services
Norman Rockwell Museum
presscontact@nrm.org
413.931.2290

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Stockbridge, MA, November 7, 2016—Weary of the 24-hour cycle of election coverage? Are you experiencing opposing views among friends and family? Have you thought about how you will feel and behave if your candidate does not win the election? Norman Rockwell Museum is offering respite.

Following one of the most contentious presidential elections in modern memory, Norman Rockwell Museum is offering a Day of Recovery on Wednesday, November 9th, with a range of programs to soothe the soul and jump-start the process of connecting no matter our point of view.

The Four Freedoms Gallery will be open for reflection and meditation, and guided tours at 11:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. will be led through the Museum’s Rockwell collection which will both inspire and amuse.

Educator Pat O’Donnell will offer drawing in the galleries at 1 p.m. for those who would benefit from a creative outlet. Enjoy self-guided art activities throughout the day in the Creativity Center. At 2:00 p.m., Director/CEO Laurie Norton Moffatt will discuss her recent Op-ed entitled “Norman Rockwell’s Fifth Freedom, The Freedom to Vote” with community conversation.

Curators Barbara Rundback and Venus Van Ness will speak at 3:00 p.m. about earlier contentious elections, as portrayed in the Museum’s exhibition, “President’s Politics and the Pen: the Influential Art of Thomas Nast.” Commemorating the 2016 presidential season, over 30 editorial cartoons by the “Father of the American Cartoon,” published by the provocative Harper’s Weekly between 1864 and 1884 are on view. The illustrations penned by Thomas Nast (1840-1902) reflect his pointed and persuasive opinions on presidential candidates during six different election years.

Known as “The President Maker,” Nast’s influential cartoons proved crucial in affecting the outcome of presidential elections, which his favored candidates were known to win. Nast held presidential-hopefuls accountable for the issues of the day, from political corruption to imperialism, inflation, and civil rights. Nast’s representations of the donkey and elephant as symbols for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively, continues to endure more than a century later.

Kathi Hatch, Kripalu-trained yoga teacher, will offer her popular yoga class at 3:30 p.m. with guided meditation and healing restorative poses; no experience with yoga necessary.

All programs are free for museum members or included with regular admission. Reservations are not required.

About Norman Rockwell Museum

Norman Rockwell Museum holds the largest and most significant collection of art and archival materials relating to the life and work of Norman Rockwell. The Museum also preserves, interprets, and exhibits a growing collection of original illustration art by noted American illustrators, from historical to contemporary. The Norman Rockwell Museum Art Collection and Norman Rockwell Archive inspire a vibrant year-round exhibition program, national traveling exhibitions, and arts and humanities programs that engage diverse audiences. The collections, which are made accessible worldwide, are a comprehensive resource relating to Norman Rockwell and the art of illustration, the role of published imagery in society, and the American twentieth century.

Since its inception, Norman Rockwell Museum has explored the impact of illustrated images and their role in shaping and reflecting our world through changing exhibitions, publications, and programs. Dedication to a deepened understanding of the art of illustration has led to the formation of the Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies. The first of its kind in the nation, this research institute supports sustained scholarship and establishes Norman Rockwell Museum’s leadership in the vanguard of preservation and interpretation relating to this important aspect of American visual culture.

Norman Rockwell Museum is located on 36 park-like acres in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Rockwell’s hometown for the last 25 years of his life. The Museum is open year-round; closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. From November through April, hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays; from May through October, hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Museum admission is $18, $17 for seniors, $10 for students, $6 for kids and teens 6 to 18, and free for Museum members and children 5 and under. Visit the Museum online at www.nrm.org.

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