O Connoisseur / O Expert / O Especialista (The Connoisseur ) - Norman Rockwell

O Connoisseur / O Expert / O Especialista (The Connoisseur ) - Norman Rockwell
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OST - 96x80 - 1961

In 1961, Rockwell's studio was temporarily transformed into an abstract expressionist's workplace as he painted The Connoisseur, a painting about the relationship between conventional and modern art. Always fascinated by modern and abstract art, Rockwell designed a cover in which he could acknowledge his appreciation of the genre. By placing his back to us, he leaves the interpretation of the museum visitor's reaction to the viewer. If we can assume that he is a surrogate for Rockwell, we may also assume that the gentleman is smiling approvingly.
Rockwell constructed his painting in a manner similar to the work of artist Jackson Pollock. Journals in his library would have provided him with information about Pollock's process. Rather than paint the connoisseur and then surround him with the abstract image, Rockwell first produced the abstract as a separate and complete image. He was then able to position a cutout of his painting of the man over his abstract in order to test the final effect. Later, he combined the images for his final painting.
Rockwell submitted a section of the sample painting to an exhibition at the Cooperstown Art Association in New York, signing the canvas with an Italian signature. It took first prize for painting. Another section of the abstract canvas, signed "Percival," won Honorable Mention at a Berkshire Museum exhibition.
The Connoisseur, Norman Rockwell, 1961. Oil on canvas, 37¾" x 31½". Cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, January 13, 1962. Private collection.

The January 13, 1962 cover of The Saturday Evening Post features an older man eying a painting that looks like Jackson Pollock at his most…drippy. The painter? Norman Rockwell.

Called The Connoisseur, the painting is a mix of art criticism (this is what we’re forced to look at now!) and bravado (but I can do it too!). It mixes Jackson Pollock’s trademark drip painting with Rockwell’s trademark illustrations. Pollock, of course, famously painted with the canvas on the floor.

According to the Norman Rockwell Museum, Rockwell rearranged his entire studio in 1961. He painted the abstract image first, on the floor like Pollock, and then combined the man and Pollock in his final painting.

While we can’t be sure if Rockwell’s Pollock was parody or homage, we do have a hint. He submitted a section of the sample painting to an art exhibition and signed it with a fake Italian signature. He won the contest and earned a similar honorable mention by submitting as Percival at the Berkshire Museum. It sounds more like Banksy than Rockwell, and it shows the satiric side of the master of illustration.