Letter: Norman not ignored

Sir: John Thomas (Letters, 11 February) laments that 'it is a pity that America has seen fit (the institutions and the critics) to ignore such a fine artist' as Norman Rockwell. Whatever the critical opinion may be, the New England where Rockwell found his inspiration and subjects shows no lack of appreciation.

Both of the towns where he spent most of his life (Arlington, Vermont, and Stockbridge, Massachusetts) have galleries displaying the great range of his work, from the folksy small-town portraiture to the striking pictures of social concern in the Kennedy years - the president himself, the Peace Corps, race and Vietnam. In addition to this, there are the other portraits from Eisenhower to Bing Crosby and Martin Luther King and those made on overseas trips.

The Stockbridge museum, situated in the town which gave its name to his famous main street picture, is newly opened. The one in Arlington is voluntarily run and funded and staff include some of those who appear, as their younger selves, in many of his paintings.

Yours sincerely,

TERRY PHILPOT

Oxted, Surrey