Norman Rockwell Museum steps into the age of digital collecting with its first NFT release | Arts and Theater

STOCKBRIDGE — Digital art collectors will be able to purchase their first Norman Rockwell NFTs beginning Nov. 15. 

The first NFTs will feature a collection curated around Rockwell’s “Waiting for the Art Editor” (1970) in which two illustrators are waiting on a couch in the lobby of a magazine’s art editor. One is newer to the craft, young and perched at the front of the couch, an air of optimism about him. The other artist, older and more seasoned, sits forward, looking into the distance. 

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“Session One: Waiting for the Art Editor,” is part of “Studio Sessions: The Norman Rockwell Collection,” a multi-part series of limited non-fungible tokens and print editions that celebrate the renowned illustrator’s creative process that launched Wednesday, Nov. 1. The first round of NFTs will be available via the Ethereum network for cryptocurrency purchases on Nov. 15, with credit card sales purchases starting Nov. 16. Purchases will be made via rockwell.iconicmoments.co. Prices for the NFTs have not yet been announced.

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“This is very special,” said Laurie Norton Moffatt, director and CEO of the Norman Rockwell Museum. “It allows us to dive into the collection of works that are not widely seen. It gives collectors an opportunity to enjoy and own a version of rarely seen items.”

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital markers that are connected to digital files. The NFTs themselves are stored on a blockchain, similar to crypto tokens. The NFTs give value to a limited-edition digital print by acting as a digital certificate of authenticity and by ensuring authenticity can help increase the resale value of the digital file. In February 2022, Post Malone purchased two Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, No. 961 and No. 9039, for a combined total of 160 ETH or $734,401.60. A the time 1 Ether (a form of cryptocurrency) was equal to $4,689. Currently, 1 ETH is equivalent to $1,839.64. 

Moving into the NFT marketplace allows the museum to reach collectors and new audiences who “live in the digital world,” Norton Moffatt said.

The curated collections will feature works — photographs, sketches, charcoal and painted studies, props — that are part of the museum’s archive of over 18,000 process photographs and draft works from the height of Rockwell’s career.

The “Session One: Waiting for the Art Editor” collection includes five options for purchase: a color study (25 available); a charcoal study (25 available); a set of photographs of staged model sessions (50 available); two portraits of Rockwell modeling character expressions (50 available); and one contact sheet (200 available), featuring a series of portraits of Rockwell working on the painting in his studio. With each purchase, collectors will receive both a limited-edition print and matching digital (NFT) collectible that also serves as an on-chain certificate of authenticity.

The NFTs will not feature images of completed works, as those image rights belong to various publishers. Rockwell’s signature, likeness and publishing rights for other works created by the illustrator are held by the Norman Rockwell Family Trust, which works closely with the museum, Norton Moffat said. 

The museum’s foray into NFTs — a collaboration between the museum and Rockwell family in partnership with digital art platform Iconic Moments — began about two years ago, she said. Members of the museum board and of the Rockwell family brought the subject up at the same time, she said, as both had been watching other museum launches and the market for some time. 

“We have been very diligent in our research and selection of our partner, Iconic,” Norton Moffat said. Iconic Moments has partnered with The Jackson Pollock Studio, the White House Historical Society and the Universal Hip Hop Museum. 

The NFTs will not only allow access to the museum’s archive that is typically unseen, save for museum staff and researchers, but also will serve as a new revenue stream that will be used to further the care for, conservation of, and access to the museum’s collection.

“It seemed like a wonderful way to invest back into the collection, while also granting access to it,” she said. Caring for the museum’s collection of paintings and other works, in addition to the museum building and staff, includes but is not limited to security, climate-controlled storage, travel, scholarship, digital storage and conservation costs.  

NFTs, Norton Moffatt added, are just the newest platform for illustrated works. 

“Illustration always needs a publishing platform and is always published in multiples. This is a new way of publishing for a new generation of collectors,” Norton Moffatt said. “We’re very happy to step out into the world in a new way.”