Norman Rockwell spent his career telling America a safe, uncontroversial story about itself. Resorting frequently to caricature and indulging a cornball sense of humor, he favored a folksy, homespun approach that often obscured his technical mastery of oil painting and his vividly rendered imagery. Today, Rockwell’s America: Celebrating the Art of Norman Rockwell comes to the KCP&L Gallery at Union Station (30 West Pershing Road, 816-460-2020), serving as a reminder that Rockwell’s populist tendencies were coupled with world-class artistry.
The exhibit displays 100 original Saturday Evening Post covers, 35 life-sized 3-D reproductions of famous Rockwell paintings, an early 20th-century Main Street, and an exact reproduction of the artist’s studio. The gallery is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Admission costs $8.95.
www.unionstation.org
www.nrm.org
June 22-Sept. 23, 2007
