Note No. 6446

‘We the Peoples: Norman Rockwell’s United Nations’ Exhibition to Open at Headquarters 29 June

An opening ceremony for the exhibition entitled “We the Peoples:  Norman Rockwell’s United Nations” will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, 29 June, in the Visitors’ Lobby (gallery B).

The exhibition, which is part of the activities organized to mark the seventieth anniversary of the United Nations, is presented by the Norman Rockwell Museum located in in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in partnership with the United Nations Foundation and the Department of Public Information.

The exhibition features 33 original artworks by iconic American painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell, including “United Nations”, a massive, complex charcoal drawing made in 1953 that portrays members of the Security Council and 65 people representing the nations of the world, and “Golden Rule”, a painting Rockwell made in 1961 where he celebrated the peoples of the world.

While a mosaic based on “Golden Rule” has been on display at the United Nations since 1985 — offered as a fortieth anniversary gift on behalf of the United States by then First Lady Nancy Reagan — the drawing and the painting were never exhibited before outside their home at the Norman Rockwell Museum.  They will be on display at the United Nations until 15 September, along with sketches, color studies and notes for both artworks.

Also included in the exhibition are a colorful series of travel paintings and some iconic images of the civil rights area that reflect Rockwell’s idealism and hopeful outlook for the future.

During the opening ceremony, remarks will be made by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Ian Eliasson; Kathy Calvin, President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation; and Laurie Norton Moffatt, Director and CEO of the Norman Rockwell Museum.

For more information, please contact Jeremy Clowe, Manager of Media Services, Norman Rockwell Museum, at tel.: +1 413 931 2290, or e-mail:  jclowe@nrm.org.

For information on United Nations exhibitions, please contact Renata Morteo in the Department of Public Information, at tel.:  +1 212 963 5455, or e-mail:  morteo@un.org.

For information media. Not an official record.