- 98
Norman Rockwell 1894 - 1978
Estimate
200,000 - 300,000 USD
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Description
- Norman Rockwell
- Whispering Sweepstakes: four paintings
- signed Norman Rockwell, l.r. (Boy Holding Peanut Butter Jar)
- oil on canvas
- each: 11 by 14 in.
- (28 by 35.5 cm)
- Painted in 1963. Corn Products Company used these paintings as advertisements for Skippy, its peanut butter brand.
Provenance
Commissioned by Corn Products Company, 1963
Acquired by the present owner, 2000
Literature
The Saturday Evening Post, May 18, 1963, illustrated as Skippy Peanut Butter advertisement
The Ladies Home Journal, June 1963, pp. 2-3, illustrated as Skippy Peanut Butter advertisement
Mary Moline, Norman Rockwell Encyclopedia: A Chronological Catalog of the Artist's Work 1910-1978, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1979, pp. 156, 182, illustrated p. 182
Dr. Donald Stoltz, Marshall L. Stoltz and William F. Earle, The Advertising World of Norman Rockwell, New York, 1985, pp. 184-5, illustrated in color
Laurie Norton Moffatt, Norman Rockwell: A Definitive Catalogue, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 1986, vol. 1, p. 544, no. A773, A774, A775, A776, illustrated
Catalogue Note
In The Advertising World of Norman Rockwell, the authors write:
Over the years, the word Skippy has become synonymous with peanut butter. The favorite food of almost every kid is either peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or peanut butter crackers. And, of course, for parents, peanut butter has become an indispensable food in every household.
While peanuts have grown in America for a thousand years or more, peanut butter made its appearance only about 1890. It was then, the unconfirmed story goes, that a St. Louis physician invented it as an easy-to-digest protein food for his patients. The original was simply roasted peanuts run through a kitchen grinder with a little salt. By 1914 there were commercial peanut butters sold from tubs in grocery stores, with hand-dipped to order.
It wasn't until sometime between 1922 and 1923 that the present-day version appeared. J.L. Rosefield of Alemeda, California, developed what he called "churned" peanut butter. In this new process, the oil stayed homogeneously distributed throughout, unlike the original where the oil would float to the top. Nine years later, in 1932, Mr. Rosefield started his own brand, Skippy, using this special process. Today, this type of peanut butter remains the most popular, though old-fashioned peanut butter is making a comeback in some parts of the country.
Over the years, the Skippy Peanut Butter sic [Brand] has stated that their product is hard to beat because it is high in protein and has no cholesterol, it is very nutritious, and most of all, it is good tasting.
In 1963 the Skippy sic [Brand] asked Norman Rockwell to illustrate these facts in a full-color advertisement. They knew that nobody could create pictures of happy kids better than Mr. Rockwell, and no kids could be happier than those enjoying Skippy Peanut Butter. The results of this advertisement appeared in The Saturday Evening Post on May sic [18], 1963, Ladies' Home Journal in June, 1963, and also appeared on supermarket billboards across the country. The ad was so successful that it was also used for a sweepstakes contest promoted by Skippy Peanut Butter (p. 184).
Over the years, the word Skippy has become synonymous with peanut butter. The favorite food of almost every kid is either peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or peanut butter crackers. And, of course, for parents, peanut butter has become an indispensable food in every household.
While peanuts have grown in America for a thousand years or more, peanut butter made its appearance only about 1890. It was then, the unconfirmed story goes, that a St. Louis physician invented it as an easy-to-digest protein food for his patients. The original was simply roasted peanuts run through a kitchen grinder with a little salt. By 1914 there were commercial peanut butters sold from tubs in grocery stores, with hand-dipped to order.
It wasn't until sometime between 1922 and 1923 that the present-day version appeared. J.L. Rosefield of Alemeda, California, developed what he called "churned" peanut butter. In this new process, the oil stayed homogeneously distributed throughout, unlike the original where the oil would float to the top. Nine years later, in 1932, Mr. Rosefield started his own brand, Skippy, using this special process. Today, this type of peanut butter remains the most popular, though old-fashioned peanut butter is making a comeback in some parts of the country.
Over the years, the Skippy Peanut Butter sic [Brand] has stated that their product is hard to beat because it is high in protein and has no cholesterol, it is very nutritious, and most of all, it is good tasting.
In 1963 the Skippy sic [Brand] asked Norman Rockwell to illustrate these facts in a full-color advertisement. They knew that nobody could create pictures of happy kids better than Mr. Rockwell, and no kids could be happier than those enjoying Skippy Peanut Butter. The results of this advertisement appeared in The Saturday Evening Post on May sic [18], 1963, Ladies' Home Journal in June, 1963, and also appeared on supermarket billboards across the country. The ad was so successful that it was also used for a sweepstakes contest promoted by Skippy Peanut Butter (p. 184).