Norman Rockwell's Family Opposes Sale Of Artist's Work

Norman Rockwell's family has come out against a Western Massachusetts museum's planned sale of one of the illustrator's works.

The family, in a letter to The Berkshire Eagle, asked the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield not to auction "Shuffleton's Barbershop."

The museum is selling 40 artworks, including two by Rockwell, to build endowment funds and finance renovations. The sale has been widely condemned.

The letter, signed by Rockwell's three sons and three of his grandsons, doesn't mention the other Rockwell piece, "Blacksmith's Boy-Heel and Toe." Both were gifts to the museum from the artist.

Margaret Rockwell, manager of the Norman Rockwell Family Agency, tells the paper the family opposes the sale of both.

The president of the museum's trustees says she appreciates the Rockwell family's passion, but the auction will proceed.