68242: Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978) The Night

Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978) The Night Before Christmas (Santa Peering over Chair at Sleeping Child), Literary Digest magazine cover, December 22, 1923 Oil on canvas 28 x 24-1/4 inches (71.1 x 61.6 cm) Signed lower right: Norman / Rockwell PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF JACK & MARTHA CAMPBELL, HOUSTON, TEXAS PROVENANCE: Martin Diamond, New York; Eleanor Ettinger, Hawaii; Private collection, acquired in 1979; Sotheby's, New York, December 5, 1996, lot 192; Christopher Clark Fine Art, San Francisco, California; Acquired by the present owner from the above, January 24, 2002. LITERATURE: L.N. Moffatt, Norman Rockwell: A Definitive Catalogue, Vol. I, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 1986, p. 63, no. C169, illustrated. This painting is reproduced on the December 1946 cover of The Grade Teacher. A copy of the magazine accompanies this lot. Few images hold the same sense of nostalgia in the American consciousness than that of Santa Claus visiting the homes of youngsters on Christmas Eve. Artists and writers have long depicted a variety of renderings of Saint Nick, many of these influenced by the 1823 publication of Clement Clarke Moore's poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas," now widely known as "The Night Before Christmas." By the 1920s, the classic American Santa embodied as a jolly old man in a red suit was ubiquitous in the work of popular illustrators and familiar to American audiences. Similarly, few artists have ever captivated the nation's imagination, particularly around Christmastime, as adeptly as America's most beloved illustrator, Norman Rockwell. From his earliest advertisements to his patriotic World War II subjects, Rockwell's virtuoso was in his ability to capture the essence of American culture and a view of a more innocent time in our country's history. The present work was featured on the cover of the December 23, 1923 issue of Literary Digest and was Rockwell's fifth and final cover illustration for the magazine. Depicting a sleeping child and dog on Christmas Eve, with a jubilant Santa Claus peeping out from the shadows, The Night Before Christmas is a prime example of Rockwell's painting style of the 1920s and 1930s. A great admirer of Rembrandt, Rockwell often emulated the artist in his early works by utilizing chiaroscuro (light-dark) effects, as here, in the candlelight that illumines the central composition. In this nocturnal scene, the child and dog are nestled in a wingback chair, having dozed off waiting for Santa. The fire in the nearby hearth has cooled, and a patchwork quilt wards off the night's chill, with the child's toes peeking through. It is only after we observe the slumbering pair that the subtle figure of Santa Claus emerges from the background, and we sense our own childlike exhilaration at the sight. The Night Before Christmas is a beautifully composed work, which would have told a familiar and magical tale to popular audiences in 1923, just as it does today. HID03101242017
Condition Report: Glue-lined canvas; fine craquelure; minor frame wear with abrasion; Under UV light, there appears to be a small spot of inpaint directly above center of back of chair and possibly tiny touches to Santa Clause; however, a dark and discolored varnish layer makes this painting difficult to read.

Framed Dimensions 37 X 32.75 Inches