Illustration Art
– Norman Rockwell’s signature masterpiece The Song of Bernadette, one of the most reproduced works of his entire career, may take top lot honors Oct. 26 in Heritage Auctions’ Illustration Art Signature® auction at the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion, 2 E. 79th St., New York, which will feature the most impressive selection by the greatest names in illustration ever offered by Heritage. Rockwell’s original movie poster illustration was commissioned as the centerpiece of an unprecedented publicity campaign for the 1943 film classic starring Jennifer Jones. Defining works in the auction include A Child’s Prayer, a book cover painted in 1925 by the revered Jessie Willcox Smith. The auction will also feature Harvard Crew Team, a stunning oil on canvas by J.C. Leyendecker published as an advertisement for the Howard Watch Company in 1907. Among the most beautifully painted of the artist’s career, the work appeared in print often in its early years, including Collier’s Magazine in 1909.
