Discontinued and highly collectible 1979 Limited Edition NORMAN ROCKWELL porcelain china dinner bell entitled BATTER UP - issued in limited edition of twelve bells by the Danbury Mint from The Wonderful World of Norman Rockwell well-known artwork. Made in W. Germany.
Tear-drop finial banded in 14K gold, 14K gold band along the bottom. The front of this collectible dinner bell is the depiction of Norman Rockwell's Gramps at the Plate or Batter Up, the back of the bell is marked as follow: The Wonderful World of Norman Rockwell, 12 Limited Edition Bells, The Danbury Mint, September 1979, Made in W. Germany.
The clapper of this porcelain china dinner bell is suspended with a silver chain with a large round porcelain china bead at the end.
The Saturday Evening Post featured this Norman Rockwell painting on August 5, 1916. Gramps at the Plate was the third of over 300 Rockwell cover to appear on the cover of The Post. Norman Rockwell was very new to the Post stable of illustrators, having had just two previous paintings published as covers. George Horace Lorimer, the editor of The Post, required his approval before anything was published in The Post, especially on the cover. This painting, the idea of which had already been approved, took considerably more work to complete. At the first presentation of the finished paining, Mr. Lorimer said "Gramps" looked too tramp-like and rough. Since he was so anxious to continue his success and association with The Post, Norman Rockwell dutifully repainted the cover. At the second presentation for the cover, Mr. Lorimer commented that "Gramps" looked too old. So Rockwell painted it again. Next time, the kid was too little. Again and again. Over and over. Gramps at the Plate was redone a total of five times. Mr Lorimer later told Norman that the repeated rejection of Gramps at the Plate was his test of Rockwell's resolve. Rockwell comments in his autobiography, My Adventures as an Illustrator, "I wonder if he knew how near I came to flunking his test."
In Gramps at the Plate, Rockwell painted his favorite subjects. Gramps looks very competent and competitive with the baseball bat in his hand. He is sizing up the pitcher. Gramps is ready to knock it out of the park. Gramps is serious about his baseball. We assume the little boy is Gramps' grandson. Let's call him Sonny. Sonny has removed his catcher's mask. With a grin on his face, Sonny is directing the pitcher to throw number 2. From Sonny's stance, we can tell the pitch will be low and outside. The mystery of this painting is whether Gramps will be able to even hit low and outside. Gramps must be a pretty good hitter if they are throwing around him! As is obvious from the painting, Norman Rockwell was a masterful storyteller. Gramps at the Plate was just one of 322 covers Rockwell painted for the Post. Here is more information on Norman Rockwell and The Saturday Evening Post.
www.best-norman-rockwell-art.com
This collectible bell measures 5.5" tall, 3.5" wide and weighs 7 ounces. It is in MINT condition and ready to be displayed with your finest porcelain china bell collection! Nice addition for Norman Rockwell collectible artwork lovers, too!
A1773 - Collectible 1979 NORMAN ROCKWELL Porcelain China Dinner Bell "The Wonderful World of Norman Rockwell" BATTER UP - The Danbury Mint
$35.00
