Page 48 - joa-nov-21

Norman Rockwell’s 1945 Masterwork Home for Thanksgiving

Auction Debut November 5

DALLAS, TX – For years, the painting hung in the hallway of a
Massachusetts American Legion Post – alone, unattended, on a wall
near the front door. “Where anyone could have walked out with it,”
Ken LaBrack says with a small laugh.
For years, no one cared too much about the fate of the painting,
because they thought it was nothing more than a reproduction of
Norman Rockwell’s Home for Thanksgiving, which first appeared on
the cover of the Nov. 24, 1945, issue of The Saturday Evening Post.
LaBrack, a past commander at the Eugene M. Connor Post 193 of
Winchendon, MA, says it wasn’t until someone walked in and offered
$500 for the work that the post’s officers began reconsidering their
position: Maybe this was far more than just a beautiful fake.
So one day in the early 1970s, the painting was pulled from the wall
and driven to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge –a two-
hour ride from the post. Officials at the museum examined the work,
and delivered their verdict: This is an original. Post officials, staggered
by the revelation, loaned the painting to the museum for safekeeping,
and for nearly five decades this enduring image of a mother and her
solider son happily peeling potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner remained
in the care of the Rockwell Museum. Its custodians displayed the
beloved work and occasionally toured it across America and around the
world, most recently as part of the Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt
& the Four Freedoms exhibition.
Now, for the first time, Rockwell’s historic, beloved Home for
Thanksgiving heads to auction serving as the centerpiece of Heritage
Auctions’ November 5 American Art Signature® Auction. It is estimat-
ed to sell for upwards of $4 million, befitting its status as one of
Rockwell’s most enduring series of works featuring soldiers returned
home from World War II.
The post is now parting with the painting for practical reasons: it museum quality” gathered on trips around the world. LaBrack, a Navy
needs the proceeds to fund long-delayed repairs on an aging, decaying veteran, says Tisdale brought a Legion representative to his retreat, and
building, which LaBrack says were “being put off because we didn’t offered any of his paintings to help fund the new building.
have the money.” The remaining proceeds will go into a trust, from “There were 10 paintings leaning on the floor, not even hung up,”
which the interest and earnings will pay bills, operating costs and fur- LaBrack says. “The Legion member walked up and down and said,
ther repairs. ‘How about that one for the post, because it has the Army guy with his
There are some 500 active members, LaBrack says, as well as 160 mother peeling potatoes?’ And Father Tisdale said OK. He also said,
Sons of the Legion and another 125 auxiliary members. ‘Hang on to this for as long as you can.’”
How the post wound up with the painting, also known as Tisdale surely knew what he had: one of Rockwell’s legendary
Thanksgiving: Mother and Son Peeling Potatoes, is a Rockwellian short homecoming pieces painted as war began transitioning to peacetime.
story on its own. LaBrack says that several decades ago, the post began The post is sad to see it go, but knows, too, that it’s time to let some-
looking at building a new headquarters and seeking donations for its one else own it after all these decades. And, now: A reproduction hangs
construction. A priest named Father Wilfred A. Tisdale caught wind of in the hallway.
its efforts and offered by way of donation one of the paintings he kept Heritage Auctions is the largest collectibles auctioneer and third largest
in his private collection. auction house in the world, as well as the largest auction house founded in
Tisdale constructed on the shores of Lake Monomonac a rock-and- the U.S. Established in 1976, Heritage offers a wide range of antiques and
concrete structure resembling the bow of a boat called the Santa Maria, collectibles across a wide spectrum using in-person and online auction
where he displayed “his collection of rare works of art of genuine options for customers. For more information, visit www.ha.com

FLEA Visit one of New England’s LARGEST REDWOOD COUNTRY
MARKET INDOOR FLEA MARKETS
COLLEGE MART FLEA MARKET FLEA MARKET
“JEWETT CITY” Conn. 170 S. Turnpike Rd. Wallingford, CT 06492
OPEN SUNDAY ONLY 9-4 OPEN EVERY FRIDAY • SATURDAY • SUNDAY
Located at the Slater Mill Mall, 39 Wedgwood Dr. Bargains Galore!
10am - 5pm year round Approx. 1 mi. off Rt. 395, from Mass Exit 22, right on Rt. 138 Antiques, Collectibles, New & Used Tools, Jewelry, Coins,
7th & C St. SE, Capitol Hill, Washington, DC From Norwich Exit 21, right on 12 to Rt. 138 CDs, Crafts, DVDs, Clothes, Flowers, Produce, Groceries,
FREE PARKING ~ FREE ADMISSION Fresh Baked Goods, Gifts, Household Items
EASTERNMARKET.NET OVER 900 TABLES ALWAYS FREE ADMISSION • $1 PARKING • 6AM TO 3PM
We are Continuously Expanding. Space Available RESTAURANT ON PREMISE
202.215.6993 Newly expanded outdoor selling spaces for Sunday 203.269.3500
Dealer spaces available. Auctions every other Friday. Fridays are Antiques & Collectibles Day
www.Leonesauctions.com
Bob and Sue Leone Res. (860) 642-6248 Bus. (860) 376-3935 OPEN YEAR ROUND • Follow us on Facebook

46 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles