Norman Rockwell Treasure Comes Home:
Verizon Donates Iconic $2 Million Painting ‘The Lineman’ to
Norman Rockwell Museum

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — The image of a telephone lineman -- strong, focused and dedicated to his craft -- has long been a symbol for communications workers and every person who works with his or her hands. Such a lineman was immortalized in a painting by Norman Rockwell in 1948.

That painting, called “The Lineman,” was donated March 12 by Verizon to the Norman Rockwell Museum here.

The oil-on-canvas painting -- 57 inches by 42 and one-eighth inches and recently appraised at more than $2 million, according to Verizon officials -- was officially presented to Museum Director and Chief Executive Officer Laurie Norton Moffatt today by Donna Cupelo, Verizon region president of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

“This is a sentimental but proud day for us,” Cupelo said at the donation ceremony at the museum. “We in the Verizon family loved this painting and enjoyed it for many, many years; it perfectly symbolizes our heritage and our commitment to our customers. At the same time, we recognize that its rightful place is with the museum so that it can be enjoyed by everyone.”

Said Moffatt, “Thanks to Verizon’s generosity, the public will be able to enjoy this magnificent painting forever. “The Lineman” joins Norman Rockwell Museum’s distinguished collection of Rockwell’s work that tells the story of America. The acquisition of this iconic painting deeply enriches the museum’s collection of American illustration art, comprising the world’s largest collection of Norman Rockwell art. We are honored to be the guardian of this American treasure, and to carry forward the colorful story of its creation.”

Rockwell created “The Lineman” for an advertisement for New England Telephone, a predecessor company of Verizon. The painting had been on loan to the museum since 2006 from the Verizon collection of art work.

History in the Making

When Rockwell accepted the commission to illustrate a lineman, he imagined the type of man he wanted to pose for his picture. In the fall of 1947, Rockwell drove around the countryside near his Arlington, Vt., home and through western Massachusetts, looking for telephone linemen at work and searching for a lineman with the build and face that Rockwell had envisioned. His search ended when he spotted New England Telephone employee and Lenox, Mass., resident, the late John Toolan, digging and setting telephone poles with a crew in Cheshire, Mass., near the Vermont border.

Later the same day, Toolan went to Rockwell’s studio in Vermont (Rockwell later moved to Stockbridge), where Rockwell had him pose outdoors on a pole fitted with cables and anchored to nearby trees. Toolan then lashed cables for several hours while photographs were taken. The photos were sent to New England Telephone, where engineers checked them for technical accuracy. Four months later, Rockwell sent his preliminary drawing and color study to the company for approval. Eleven changes were required, most of them technical, before Rockwell could proceed with this final oil painting.

Copies of the painting appeared nationally as an ad in Life magazine. Its appearance generated thousands of reprint requests from the public and telephone company employees. More than 100,000 poster-sized color prints were sent throughout the country.

Quoted in a 1980 article in a New England Telephone employee magazine, Toolan said, “I remember when the ad first appeared in the magazine…boy did I get kidded a lot by my friends and co-workers. They said they’d never known such a famous person before and thought I was quite a celebrity. Best of all, though, they thought I was still a regular guy, too.” Although the illustration was created for an advertisement, its effect was meant to be inspirational rather than commercial. In the original letter to Rockwell from the ad agency handling the account, it was suggested that he portray the lineman in the act of restoring service after a catastrophic event, such as a hurricane. “The work of the linemen for the telephone company,” said the letter, “is filled with opportunities for personal sacrifices and acts which stem only from devotion to national welfare, so that it seems a fitting work to honor by such a painting.”

This almost life-size painting commands viewers’ attention both through its size and by its straightforward message about the importance and dignity of manual work in the performance of essential service. The painting joins a collection of Rockwell artwork at the Norman Rockwell Museum, consisting of similar works in which the artist devoted his entire canvas to a single compelling figure, such as Tyrone Power in a movie poster for “The Razor’s Edge” and Charles Dickens’ coachman for a 1939 Saturday Evening Post cover.

The Lineman ©1948 Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing Company, Niles, IL

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Norman Rockwell (center) oversees production of reference photos for The Lineman painting. ©1948 Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing Company, Niles, IL

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Norman Rockwell (right) directs his model during a reference photo ©1948 Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing Company, Niles, IL

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Photo of a preliminary study for Norman Rockwells The Lineman in the artists studio. ©1948 Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing Company, Niles, IL

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Reference photo of John Toolan of Lenox, MA, model for The Lineman. ©1948 Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing Company, Niles, IL