Norman Rockwell Museum
The Curtis Center
601 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 922-4345

Note: This Museum is permanently closed. There is a Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. Unfortunately it is beyond the scope of this guide for now.

So beautifully did Norman Rockwell portray America and Americans that his work has indeed become a symbol of our nation. How fitting that a museum dedicated to this artist, his life and his works, is found in Philadelphia.

Born in 1894, Rockwell sold his first cover to the Curtis Publishing Company in 1916. In his 60-year career, the pipe-smoking illustrator worked seven days a week with half a day off for Christmas, producing canvas images of the nation he loved.

The Museum is housed in the original Curtis Publishing Company building, where Norman Rockwell arrived regularly with his paintings, meeting deadlines for the Saturday Evening Post.

The Norman Rockwell Museum houses the world's largest and most complete exhibit of the history and works of this beloved artist. Displays include the entire collection of Saturday Evening Post cover illustrations, as well as a large and varied representation of lithographs, collotypes, prints and sketches. A tour is Self-Guided; the cost of admission includes a comprehensive guide with interesting information on the cover art displayed.

Visitors will enjoy such masterpieces as Christmas in Stockbridge (Rockwell's home town), The Runaway, John F. Kennedy, Looking Out to Sea, The Tattoo Artist, and The Fireman, along with the many other covers that have given a nation such a wonderful look at itself. This Museum guarantees hours of looking and dreaming and sharing the vision of this great artist who was generous enough to share it.

Hundreds of other reproductions are also on display, work done for the business, banking and insurance companies of America, the Boys Scouts of America, and others. The Museum also features a replica of Mr. Rockwell's studio, just as he left it in Stockbridge, MA. In the Four Freedoms Theatre visitors can enjoy a unique slide and film presentation presenting the life and career of Norman Rockwell.