Norman Rockwell Museum Receives First Place Award of Excellence in International Brochure Competition

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Norman Rockwell Museum has received a First Place Regional Award of Excellence for its brochure by the Association of Professional Brochure Distributors. The brochure, which features the Norman Rockwell painting Red Sox Locker Room, won first place in the Northeastern United States in the Association’s 2007 International Best Brochure Competition. Contest winners were announced at the Association’s recent annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois.

The brochure, written and designed by the Museum, was printed by Excelsior Printing Company in North Adams, Mass. Berkshire Brochure Display, the Museum’s Stockbridge-based brochure distributor, submitted the brochure as an entry in the competition. From a field of over 19,000 brochures, representing the collective client base of the Association membership, nominees were narrowed down to a list of 63. These nominated brochures, including the Norman Rockwell Museum’s, were then evaluated through competitive comparisons using specific criteria including: headline quality, construction, content and overall appeal. The judges were industry professionals representing brochure distribution and display companies from across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and South Africa.

Red Sox Locker Room, first published 50 years ago on the March 2, 1957, cover of The Saturday Evening Post, depicts Ted Williams and team members Sammy White, Frank Sullivan, Jackie Jensen, and Billy Goodman during spring training in Sarasota, Florida. Exaggerating the contrast between the rookie and his veteran teammates, Rockwell portrayed the newcomer as gangly and awkward. He selected his model from students lunching in the cafeteria at Pittsfield High School. One Post reader, unhappy with the rookie’s “appearance and stature,” called the picture “a disgrace to Organized Baseball.” Others questioned the identity of the players, and their confusion was warranted. Because Williams wasn’t available to pose in-person, still photos of him were sent to Rockwell. Since they didn’t show Williams in the pose the Rockwell needed for his painting, he substituted Frank Sullivan’s profile for Williams’. This discrepancy plagues baseball fans to this day, given Rockwell’s high standards of authenticity.