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.
