The group is up against fierce competition from private collectors who are keen to purchase these rare relics of American history, with an initial price of $2.5 million.
So You Want to See the President! is a collection of four sketches from the 1940s that show a wide range of people, including journalists, military officers, and Miss America Pageant winners, patiently waiting in the opulent West Wing lobby in the hopes of meeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The series, which Rockwell created in 1943 and published in the Saturday Evening Post during World War II, is the only known collection of four connected paintings intended to tell a coherent narrative.
A member of the association's board of directors, Anita McBride, remembered seeing sketches in 1981 while working for Ronald Reagan.
Matthew Costello, the association’s chief education officer, further explained their significance:
"In a way, it sort of illustrates how FDR always talked about the ‘arsenal of democracy’ and what made the United States unique," calling them "an incredible series of renderings."
The White House Literal Association, anon-profit, nonpartisan association innovated by Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961, faces a significant fiscal challenge as a result.
The association, which depends on private donations and retail deals rather than government backing, set a former record in 2007 when it paid $1.5 million for an oil project called The Builders by Jacob Lawrence.
Clients are "ready and waiting to compete for this American icon," according to Christina Rees, director of communications at Heritage Auctions.
The association is unwavering despite the anticipated" stiff competition" for Rockwell's work, which is fueled by wide interest in Americana. Its thing is to help the White House in gathering and showcasing vestiges that emblematize American culture and history.
What legal grounds is the White House Historical Association using?
The White House literal Association's legal grounds to reclaim the Norman Rockwell sketches primarily rest on their part as the custodian and conserver of White House history and vestiges.
Though the association is a private nonprofit innovated to save and interpret the history of the White House, it does n't hold direct power over all White House- related art or vestiges but works nearly with the White House in maintaining and curating its sanctioned collection.
The association is reportedly trying to assert moral and literal claims emphasizing the sketches' unique connection to the White House and American heritage, seeking to rescue or reclaim the workshop at a transaction grounded on their significance to the public and public history.