Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978) America's Manpower Begins with Boypower, 1971 Oil on canvas 34 x 26 inches (86.4 x 66.0 cm) Signed lower right: Norman / Rockwell Property from the BSA Settlement Trust, Sold for the Benefit of Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse LITERATURE: Boy Scouts of America Calendar, Brown & Bigelow Co., Saint Paul, Minnesota, 1971, n.p., illustrated; W. Hillcourt, Norman Rockwell's World of Scouting, New York, 1977, pp. 100-01, illustrated; M. Moline, Norman Rockwell Encyclopedia, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1979, p. 231; L.N. Moffatt, Norman Rockwell: A Definitive Catalogue, Vol. I, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 1986, pp. 290-91, no. A92, illustrated; J. Csatari, Norman Rockwell's Boy Scouts of America, New York, 2009, pp. 98-99, illustrated. In America's Manpower Begins with Boypower (1971), Norman Rockwell presents a tightly ordered portrait of the Boy Scouts of America as a multigenerational institution. Two Cub Scouts occupy the foreground, standing behind the organization's eagle-crested fleur-de-lis emblem, while a Boy Scout in khaki and an Explorer Scout in green flank the Den Mother positioned at the center. Framing the composition are four senior male figures representing the organization's national president, Chief Scout Executive, and its local volunteer and professional leadership. Flags and banners frame the group at the margins, while Rockwell's compressed, nearly symmetrical arrangement conveys continuity, collective purpose, and the passage from youthful participation to mature service. According to Jeff Csatari, Rockwell asked his father, the noted Boy Scouts artist Joseph Csatari, to find models through New York agencies, seeking a beautiful woman to portray the Den Mother at the center of the composition. Csatari mailed Rockwell photographs of several candidates, including an additional portrait of his own wife, Susan. Unaware of her identity, Rockwell selected Susan, remarking on her beautiful, wholesome appearance. He learned of the connection only when Csatari arrived at the studio on the day of the photoshoot and introduced her: "Norman, meet your Den Mother, my wife Susan." HID12401132022 © 2026 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice

Minor frame abrasion along edges. A few small hairs included in paint layer. A few scattered areas of fine craquelure and faint stretcher bar marks. Under UV examination: varnish fluoresces unevenly; a few touches of potential inpaint along extreme edges. Tacking edges taped and inscribed with publisher's writing.
Framed Dimensions 40.5 X 32.5 Inches