Sotheby’s announced that its highly anticipated American art auction in New York on December 4, 2013 will include a selection of Norman Rockwell paintings from the family of Kenneth J. Stuart Sr., the artist’s longtime friend and art director at the Saturday Evening Post. The seven works include two of Rockwell’s most celebrated works – Saying Grace (estimate: $15 million to $20 million) and The Gossips (estimate: $6 million to $9 million). The works, which were passed down in Stuart’s family to the present owners, are expected to garner over $24 million.
Rockwell created his first Saturday Evening Post cover in 1916 and over the next several decades, became the publication’s most popular and successful illustrator. The artist’s most productive period coincided with the start of his professional and personal relationship with Stuart, who became the Post’s art editor in 1943. The two worked together for 18 years, collaborating on some of Rockwell’s most popular covers including The Gossips and Saying Grace.
Elizabeth Goldberg, head of Sotheby’s American art department, said, “To offer any of these masterworks would be a great privilege. To present two of Norman Rockwell’s most iconic works in one auction truly is unprecedented.”
Select works from the sale will be on view in Los Angeles, Hong Kong and New York throughout the fall.
