Living admin on 11 Apr 2006 01:28 pm
Norman Rockwell, The Dark Side
(FiniteTimes.com) – When Stockbridge resident Ida Montgomery heard last week that an original Norman Rockwell painting had been discovered in the wall of deceased illustrator Donald Trachte’s former home, her first thought was “Donald who?”
Her second thought concerned the loose board in the wall of her outhouse.
“Oh, I keep it around out of nostalgia. Occasionally I’ll take a dump out there, or guests will. It’s like an amusement ride,” Ms. Montgomery told The Finite Times. After prattling on about the damn outhouse for another half-hour or so, Ms. Montgomery finally got in the general vicinity of a point.
“Mr. Rockwell used to always use that outhouse when he would visit my Aunt Alice, who used to own this house. Anyhow, this board out there has been loose for years. I had my nephew Bert pry it loose the other day, and we found these.”
“These” are four never-before-seen Rockwell originals that show a side of the painter that few knew existed, a dark side. Three resemble Rockwell classics, with some disturbing twists.
The first is similar to Triple Self-Portrait, only with Rockwell seeing and drawing himself as a hideous beast (see picture above). Handwriting on the back indicate that Rockwell wanted to call this new version Triple Self-Precious.
The second is identical to Before The Shot, except the doctor is cradling a shotgun, not holding a needle, as he stands next to the bare-bottomed boy. The third, a take-off on the Rockwell classic Young Spooners, we can’t even begin to describe here due to decency standards.
The fourth painting is completely original and has been labeled by some experts Woodsman Comes Home To Find Wife In Bed With Neighbor. Other experts are sticking with the less-wieldy Experiment In The Overuse Of Red.
Many Rockwell fans were shocked at the finding and wonder if perhaps there are more “not-normal Normans” still in hiding out there. Ida Montgomery, however, remains a loyal fan.
“Six million,” she said, scooping up a newspaper to head out to the outhouse, which is now listed with the National Register of Historic Places. “That’s what they told me down at the museum that these would fetch at auction. The man could have humped horses for all I care and I’d still be his number one fan. I gotta take a historic dump.”
Meanwhile, the Greater Stockbridge Drywall League has announced that calls to repair walls in the Stockbridge area have risen 14,298 percent over the past week.
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