Norman Rockwell Museum joining the NFT world

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. – The world’s first Norman Rockwell NFTs will be available next week.

Norman Rockwell Museum director and CEO Laurie Norton Moffatt said they’re excited to present a new way to enjoy and collect the works of the famous American illustrator.

“We believe this will be enjoyable to audiences because many people are now collecting digital art and the whole world of NFTs,” Norton Moffatt said. “They will feature works from the archive; things never before seen from Norman Rockwell Museum’s collection.”

NFT stands for non-fungible tokens. The limited digital images are assets based on blockchain technology, which Norton Moffatt describes as something people can uniquely own.

“Your own safe deposit box on the internet,” she said. “Where only you have access to this particular work of art.”

Through a partnership between Norman Rockwell’s family, the museum and the digital art platform Iconic Moments, the Norman Rockwell NFT collection is titled “Studio Sessions: The Norman Rockwell Collection.” The first will feature images of Rockwell’s creation of his illustration titled “Waiting for the Art Editor.”

“I think of this as an autobiographical piece, because you can see in the picture the contrast between the young artist and then the more mature older artist,” Norton Moffatt said. “We’re invited to think about Norman Rockwell, his experience as a young man when he first brought his portfolio and his first sketch ideas to the art editor.

“And then because Norman Rockwell painted for 65 years and really kept his finger on the pulse of America and continued to paint the most extraordinary, iconic images, we can think of him in his older years here reflecting back, ‘What was it like when I first visited the art editor and wondering how long will the art editors keep liking my work?’”

Through limited-edition prints and digital collectibles, Norton Moffat said Norman Rockwell’s art will generate new revenue for the museum and be shared in an innovative way.

“Illustration art has always been shared with the world through new technologies, whether it was the printing press, the evolution of color printing, digital printing,” Norton Moffatt said. “Now we have access to art on the digital blockchain and illustration is ideally suited to this because it can be enjoyed by many people in new ways, just as Norman Rockwell’s work was during his lifetime.”

All purchases for the Rockwell NFTs will be through Iconic Moments by cryptocurrency or credit card sales. They will go on sale starting Nov. 15.