Childhood is filled with mysteries and countless questions about the world. What holds birds up in the air? How come you can't see wind? Stuff like that.
One of the enduring mysteries of my early life was: If they call it the Saturday Evening Post, how come it comes in the mail on Thursday? Why isn't it the "Thursday Evening Post"?
The Post was a staple in the coffee-table pile when I was growing up. But there certainly never was any mystery about the magazine's covers, so frequently bearing illustrations by Norman Rockwell. Each of the 321 Post cover images Rockwell executed over a 46-year relationship with the magazine conveyed a message -- often humorous, sometimes poignant -- that was unmistakably clear.
Now there are those who argue that "America's Favorite Artist" was not an artist at all, that he was an illustrator and what he produced was not art. Other critics of Rockwell's work say his illustrations presented an idealized version of American life that never really existed.
I'm no art expert, but to Rockwell's critics I would simply say: Come to Stockbridge.
In many ways, this Berkshire Mountain village, where Rockwell lived and worked for the last quarter-century of his 84-year life, seems an ideal -- an unreal version of a small New England town. But it's no ideal -- it's the real thing.
And a weekend visit to this attractive hamlet and the Norman Rockwell Museum on its outskirts is enough to convince almost any cynic that charming, small-town New England life does indeed exist and that Rockwell's portrayals of it are, in fact, art.
Beyond Rockwellian pursuits, however, the Stockbridge area has enough going on any time of year to make the trip worthwhile. For outdoor types, winter offers skiing; the rest of the year you can hike, bike, sail, fish and swim. Those whose interests lie in less active areas will find this part of the Berkshires full of art galleries, antiques stores, boutiques and plenty of concerts and stage performances to attend.
Now is a particularly good time to visit, since the Norman Rockwell Museum is in the midst of a centennial exhibition, marking 100 years since the artist's birth.
On a recent weekend, I stayed at the venerable Red Lion Inn on Main Street and explored Stockbridge before stopping by the museum.
The town began life as little more than a wide spot in an 18th-century road through the Berkshire Hills. In the latter half of the 19th century and into the early part of the 20th, however, its picturesque setting was discovered by wealthy Easterners who built "cottages" in and around Stockbridge.
Friendliness, 'family values'
The village of today easily merges its small-town feel with the more cosmopolitan atmosphere of an upscale vacation and tourist destination. There is an air of sophistication, but it is tempered with the kind of friendliness and, for want of a better term, "family values" so commonly found in Rockwell's illustrations.
It's the kind of town where you are almost embarrassed to lock your car when you park it on the street; where a kid can leave a bike on the front lawn overnight and it will still be there in the morning.
Downtown Stockbridge consists largely of a two-block stretch of Main Street and the block-long Elm Street, which meets Main at the eastern end of downtown. The center is anchored by the Red Lion Inn, a rambling, white, four-story hostelry that has been accepting guests since 1773 and is a favorite of concert-goers attending the summer presentations at Tanglewood, just a few miles north of town in Lenox, Mass.
The inn features a cozy basement pub, the Lion's Den; an informal bar off the lobby; and an estimable restaurant with menu offerings that include traditional New England cuisine and international fare. The Red Lion is jammed with an eclectic collection of antiques and reproductions, and the atmosphere and service are homey without being cloying.
Just down Main Street is the 1884 House, once the town hall and now a boutique offering men's and women's clothing in traditional styles and fabrics from here and abroad. Next door is a pedestrian walkway called, almost too cutely, the Mews, where shops such as Heirlooms, Hodge Podge and Currier & i purvey antique jewelry, contemporary crafts and gifts.
Continuing east, at the corner of Main and Elm stands the Old Corner House, former home of the Rockwell Museum. The building, dating from the 1790s, now houses medical offices.
Main Street is lined with magnificent homes, some remnants of the "cottage" era. Also on Main, half a block west and across the street from the Red Lion, is the Mission House, the restored home built in 1739 by the Rev. John Sergeant, who set up housekeeping there while he served as missionary to the area's Mahican Indians. (The house is open daily from Memorial Day through Columbus Day.)
The Norman Rockwell Museum is a short drive up Route 102 from the heart of Stockbridge. The museum entrance is on Route a half-mile west of the intersection.
The Old Corner House almost immediately proved to be too small for a museum housing the works of an artist as popular as Rockwell and, in 1986, the museum purchased the current 40-acre site. The new museum opened in 1993.
The building's design, by Robert A. M. Stern, suggests typical New England architecture -- a sprawling, white, clapboard exterior.
The museum houses more than 600 Rockwell works, although nowhere near that number are displayed at any given time. During the centennial celebration exhibit, from 40 to 50 original paintings are on display.
Step back in time
To walk through the museum's nine galleries is to travel back to a much simpler time in America. That is not to say that Rockwell did not acknowledge what was happening in this country in the later years of his life. His works portraying the changes in American society that were wrought by the '60s and '70s are every bit as evocative -- perhaps even more so -- than his earlier efforts to define and, yes, idealize, American life.
Rockwell is credited with having produced 322 Saturday Evening Post cover illustrations. In fact, he produced 321. The magazine used the illustration of John F. Kennedy that Rockwell did when Kennedy was elected in 1960 a second time, bordered in black, for the cover of its edition after Kennedy's assassination in 1963.
Post covers aside, Rockwell executed nearly 4,000 illustrations during a career that spanned seven decades. He was at one time the art director of Boys' Life, the magazine of the Boy Scouts of America. His work adorned the print advertisements for dozens of products; his portraits of famous Americans are legion; and Rockwell-illustrated calendars were once ubiquitous in middle-class American homes.
There are examples of all this and more. One of the most impressive exhibits -- and part of the permanent collection -- is Rockwell's interpretation of the "Four Freedoms" enunciated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The propagandistic, if not political, feeling is inescapable. So, too, is the power of the concept.
On the museum's lower level, there is a small library, where you can page through any number of books documenting Rockwell's illustrations, as well as the work of other famous illustrators.
The museum is situated on a lovely site, a hill overlooking the Housatonic River. Not long after the land was purchased, Rockwell's studio, a converted carriage house adjacent to his home in Stockbridge, was moved to the museum land and
perched on an overlook above the river valley. A visit to the studio -- which contains many Rockwell artifacts, including his easel, brushes, library and props -- is included in the museum admission, although the studio is open for visits only from May through October.
L The centennial exhibit of Rockwell's works runs through Nov.
Tourist stops
There is plenty to see and do throughout the area, throughout the year. In summer, there are the musical presentations at Tanglewood, the idyllic summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the productions at the Berkshire Theater Festival in Stockbridge.
There is history as well as arts and crafts at Hancock Shaker Village in nearby Pittsfield, Mass. And the entire area is rich with antiques shops, craft shops and art galleries.
Also in Pittsfield is the Pittsfield Museum, replete with area natural history as well as exhibits and films about the area's historical importance.
Farther north, in Williamstown, Mass., the Clark Art Institute and the Williams College Museum of Art are both noteworthy for their collections of late-19th-century and 20th-century art.
Within closer striking distance of Stockbridge are such famous homes as Chesterwood, the summer estate of sculptor Daniel Chester French, whose most recognized work is the seated Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The Mount, novelist Edith Wharton's grandiose house and gardens, is a short drive away on the outskirts of Lenox. Both are open to the public for tours and offer a number of lectures and seminars throughout the spring, summer and fall.
During this time of year, there is downhill skiing at eight resorts, including Brodie Mountain, Catamount and Jiminy Peak, within a short drive from Stockbridge. Cross-country skiing is as close as five miles away at Oak 'n' Spruce in South Lee, Mass., as well as at more than a dozen locales within less than an hour's drive.
During my visit to the Rockwell Museum, I was struck by the painting "Stockbridge Mainstreet at Christmas." Main Street in Stockbridge looks little different today from Rockwell's mid-'50s work. And visiting the town is a bit like visiting the museum, if not the painting. All the nostalgia, all the history, all the talent of Rockwell's work is on display at the Norman Rockwell Museum.
IF YOU GO
Getting there: From the Baltimore area, take Interstate 95 to the New Jersey Turnpike north to the Garden State Parkway. Follow the parkway into New York state and Interstate 287 and Interstate 87 north (the New York State Thruway). Staying there: The premier place to stay in Stockbridge is theRed Lion Inn; (413) 298-5545. But there are many attractive inns and B&Bs; in the area. For information, see below.
Information: Contact the Stockbridge Chamber of Commerce, Box 224, Stockbridge, Mass. 01262; (413) 298-5200. For information on the Berkshires area, contact the Berkshire Visitors Bureau; (800) 237-5747.