STOCKBRIDGE, MA.- Norman Rockwell Museum has received a Museums for America grant of $150,000 from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and a $75,000 grant from the American Art Program of the Henry Luce Foundation. The grant money will fund the launch of ProjectNORMAN, an extensive digital and collections management project meant to make the Museum’s collection available to a worldwide audience. Staff assigned to ProjectNORMAN will systematically organize, inventory, catalogue, re-house, and digitize the more than 100,000 items in the Museum’s vast Norman Rockwell collection.

"The imprimatur of the IMLS and the Henry Luce Foundation carries a special meaning in the arts and cultural community and we are honored that the importance of Norman Rockwell’s contributions to the art world has received their acknowledgement," says Museum Director Laurie Norton Moffatt. "ProjectNORMAN is one of our highest priorities, as it will preserve the Museum's collections and provide worldwide access to them. Norman Rockwell Museum has the largest collection of original Rockwell art in the world and our archive contains an enormous amount of fascinating material, including Rockwell’s photographs, letters, and other personal items, much of which has been in storage since Rockwell’s death."

The Museum anticipates that ProjectNORMAN will take ten years to complete. Phase One of the project will commence with the purchase and installation of special database software, computer hardware and a scanner, and a hygrothermograph (used to measure relative humidity). Project staff include Linda Pero, curator of Norman Rockwell Collections, Martin Mahoney, manager of collection and registration, and Jonathan Olly, curatorial assistant.

"With their rich collections, museums enable visitors to physically connect with history, science, and the creative process," said Dr. Robert S. Martin, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. "The Museums for America grants will help museums advance their role as trusted resources that serve communities by creating and sustaining a nation of leaders."

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is an independent federal grant-making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities.

The Henry Luce Foundation's national program in American art is dedicated exclusively to American fine and decorative arts scholarship. Since its inception in 1982, the program has awarded over $100 million to art organizations within the United States, all to support the advancement of American art.