Rockwell Sale Is Legacy for National Press Club

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Oct 02, 2015, 04:40 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The boards of the National Press Club and non-profit National Press Club Journalism Institute voted Oct. 1 to sell their Norman Rockwell painting, "Norman Rockwell Visits a Country Editor.''

The sale will occur at an auction at Christie's on Nov. 19. Christie's expects the artwork to sell for $10 million to $15 million. Seventy percent of the proceeds will go to the Club, 30 percent to the Institute.

"This is wonderful news for the Club and the Institute because we will have additional resources to carry out our missions for many years to come,'' National Press Club President John Hughes said.

The Rockwell artwork appeared in the Saturday Evening Post on May 25, 1946. The Club's newsletter in 1962 and 1963 makes reference to a "gift of the Saturday Evening Post.'' When Rockwell himself spoke at the Club in 1967, the moderator of the event made reference to the painting.

For years the artwork hung outside the Club's members-only bar/restaurant on the 14th floor, the Reliable Source.

"In a sale, we secure the Club's future and are in a better position to care for our facility, offer world-class programs and support and grow our membership,'' Hughes said.

The Journalism Institute, with its share of the proceeds, will be able to expand its ability to carry out its mission for journalists, Hughes said.

"The needs of the profession are immense -- from training those who have lost jobs to fighting for a free press worldwide,'' Hughes said. "The sale of the painting of a small-town America newsroom in the 20th Century will sustain our missions to support journalism for many decades to come in the 21st Century. What a great legacy for Norman Rockwell.''

The National Press Club, founded in 1908 in Washington, D.C., is the world's leading professional organization for journalists and fights for a free press worldwide.

Contact: Bill McCarren 202-662-7534

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SOURCE National Press Club