From Reading Public Museum
Pictured above: N. C. Wyeth (American, 1882-1945), Daniel Boone, The Home Seeker — Cumberland Valley, 1936, oil on canvas, 30 x 41 inches, The Home Insurance Company calendar, 1938, also printed as Everett Webster Insurance calendar, Peterboro, NH, © 2026 National Museum of American Illustration, Newport, RI, and the American Illustrators Gallery, New York, NY.
The Reading Public Museum is pleased to announce its newest exhibition, Rockwell/Wyeth: Icons of Americana, opening Sept. 19 and on view through Jan. 3. Featuring nearly 40 original works by Norman Rockwell and N.C. Wyeth, along with covers of The Saturday Evening Post illustrated by Rockwell, this engaging exhibition examines the work of two of the most celebrated figures in American art. Their poignant illustrations captured the imaginations of Americans throughout the first half of the 20th century and remain admired today for their artistry, storytelling, and nostalgic power.
The exhibition was developed in partnership with the National Museum of American Illustration and the American Illustrators Gallery, New York. Exhibition coordination provided by PAN Art Connections. The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to examine Rockwell and Wyeth side-by-side as a central scholarly focus. N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945) and Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) rose to prominence in different eras and with distinctive styles, yet both became household names through the familiarity, accessibility, and emotional resonance of their work.
“Rockwell and Wyeth helped define how generations of Americans pictured courage, home, humor, and collective memory,” said Scott Schweigert, Curator of Art at the Reading Public Museum. “By bringing their paintings together, this exhibition invites visitors to look beyond nostalgia and see the extraordinary artistic discipline, imagination, and emotional force behind these remarkable images that still feel deeply familiar.”
The exhibition explores the breadth of the artists’ commercial work, from advertisements to magazine covers. Wyeth is best known as a prolific book illustrator who energized the pages of Scribner Classics such as Treasure Island and Robin Hood. Rockwell, likewise, is synonymous with The Saturday Evening Post and the cover illustrations he produced for it — art that both sold magazines and reflected shifting American interests, ideals, and values across several decades.
Despite their revered status today and their popularity with the public during their lifetimes, Rockwell and Wyeth were not always held in the same critical regard as fine artists of their eras because of the commercial nature of their work. Through an in-depth look at their careers, varied output, and extraordinary fame, Rockwell/Wyeth: Icons of Americana highlights both artists’ undeniable talent and their enduring place in American art history. Taking over the Museum’s second-floor Temporary Galleries, the exhibition sheds light on Rockwell and Wyeth’s illustration process, revealing that many of their images began as full-size paintings and drawings before being scaled and reproduced in print for readers across the country.
Rockwell/Wyeth: Icons of Americana is curated and organized in partnership with the National Museum of American Illustration, Newport, RI, americanillustration.org, and the American Illustrators Gallery, New York, NY, americanillustrators.com. Exhibition coordination provided by PAN Art Connections Inc., pan-art-connections.com.
This exhibition is made possible at The Reading Public Museum with support from the Marlin and Ginger Miller Exhibition Endowment, with additional support from Tom and Donna Weik in honor of Robert P. Metzger.
About the Reading Public Museum
The Reading Public Museum is a dynamic center of lifelong learning that collects, preserves, and interprets objects of art, science, and civilization to engage, educate, and enlighten current and future generations from our diverse communities. RPM is supported in part by grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and is located at 500 Museum Road, Reading, PA. Admission per day is $14.00 for adults (18-64), $8.00 for children/seniors/college students (w/ID), and free to members and children three years old and under. Currently enrolled Reading School District students and up to five accompanying guests receive free regular museum admission and free admission to public Neag Planetarium shows with proof of enrollment. The Museum is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more at readingpublicmuseum.org.
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