At least six relatives of Norman Rockwell have denounced the Berkshire Museum’s plan to put art on the auction block — including two works by the famed American illustrator — to fund an expansion and endowment.
Family members of Norman Rockwell tell the Berkshire Eagle that the iconic American artist’s "Shuffleton's Barber Shop" and "Shaftsbury Blacksmith Shop” need to remain in the Berkshire community.
The two works and 38 other objects from the museum’s collection have been deemed no longer essential to the museum’s programming, and will be sold sometime in the next six months at auction. The 40 objects are expected to fetch $50 million.
That will fund most of a $60 million expansion and endowment project at the Pittsfield museum.
A coalition of national museum associations, other local cultural institutions, artists, and educators are calling on the Berkshire Museum to halt the auction.
The Norman Rockwell Museum, whose director also opposes the sale, is located in nearby Stockbridge.
