AP News, January 29th, 2007
The Butler Institute of American Art has paid $1.6 million to acquire its first Norman Rockwell painting, "Lincoln the Railsplitter."
The painting was bought Nov. 30 in a sale at Christie's Auction House in New York. The previous owner was Texas billionaire and former presidential candidate H. Ross Perot.
The acquisition was announced Sunday. The painting, which had not been shown in public for years, will be unveiled Feb. 16.
"When it arrived, I felt like Joseph Butler Jr. when 'Snap the Whip' arrived," said Louis Zona, director of the Butler, referring to the museum's founder and the famed painting by Winslow Homer. "Snap the Whip" has become the museum's signature piece.
"This is the biggest event in my 25 years at the Butler, in terms of adding to the collection," Zona said.
The painting was commissioned in 1962 and completed in 1965 for an advertisement by the Lincoln First Federal Savings and Loan of Spokane, Wash.
It depicts a young Abraham Lincoln working as a land surveyor. In the painting, Lincoln carries an ax through a field, while immersed in a book he's carrying in his other hand. A split-rail fence is in the background.
The Butler paid for the painting with money from its acquisition fund, and private and public gifts. Zona said an as-yet undetermined painting from the museum's holdings will be sold to help offset the purchase.
The Butler, dedicated in 1919, has more than 20,000 items, including works by Mary Cassatt, Edward Hopper, John James Audubon, Thomas Eakins, George Bellows and Robert Vonnoh.
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On the Net: http://www.butlerart.com
