STOCKBRIDGE, MASS.- Norman Rockwell Museum has been collecting American illustration art for almost two decades, adding to Rockwell’s own collection of artworks by prominent illustrators. In 2017, more than 500 original illustrations and studies were generously donated to the Museum’s Permanent Collection of Illustration Art by noted American illustrator Bascove. Celebrating this important acquisition, a special collection highlight exhibition will be on view from March 12 through June 5, 2022 entitled Bascove: The Time We Spend with Words.

Known by the mononym, Bascove, Anne Bascove, is a master printmaker, illustrator,painter, and collagist best known for her striking woodcut book jacket and magazine illustrations as well as for her series of paintings and drawings of the bridges of New York City. Inspired by the written word throughout her life, she has been a preeminent designer of book covers that have engaged readers with the writings of many noted authors, including Alice Walker, Robertson Davies, Jerome Charyn, T.C. Boyle, and J.M. Coetzee. Her illustrations have graced the pages of many publications, including The New York Times, Redbook, Travel & Leisure, Life, and others.

This exhibition will feature Bascove’s art for some of the most significant literary works of our time, including examples of her creative process - from sketch to wood block carving and final illustration. A video interview with the artist and an audio tour will be featured. Organized by NRM’s Curator of Exhibitions Jesse Kowalski with assistance from Registrar Barbara Rundback, the exhibition also includes commentary by illustration and design author/historian Steven Heller, who has worked closely with the artist during his long tenure as art director at The New York Times.

“The marriage of text and imagery has been central to some of the most vibrant illustrations of our time, from the work of great 20th century poster artists to persuasive communications that meld modern graphic design and illustration as a means of clarifying and emphasizing ideas and concepts. Throughout her career, Bascove has treated words and images as two parts of a visual and conceptual whole, moving far beyond ornament. Her powerful artworks have inspired and influenced generations of artists and we are honored to help steward this important female creator’s legacy,” said Chief Curator/Deputy Director Stephanie Haboush Plunkett.




Bascove notes “For a large body of my work to be in the Museum’s permanent illustration collection is humbling. It was Rockwell’s paintings for Look Magazine that struck home, especially The Problem We All Live With, the first purchase made by the Museum. The idea of what the country should and could be was forming in the minds of the young in the ’60s – my generation – and that images could communicate complex ideas about societies in a strong clear voice. I cannot think of a more perfect place nor kindred spirits to house and exhibit the art for these inspiring, daring writers from all over the world.”

Bascove is a NYC-based artist born in Philadelphia, and where she received her B.A. from the Philadelphia College of Art. “From an early age I learned that the world only makes sense to me through art. My love of my City and fascination with science, architecture, and literature has always driven my explorations. I love to share that curiosity and exhilaration through my work.” In the late 1970’s she lived by the Seine River in Paris, where she began drawing bridges, an obsession that only intensified on her return to NYC.

Describing her passion for literature from every continent, Bascove remarked “I am intrigued by stories of wit or mystery, but especially of societies confronting dehumanizing situations, told through the unflinching voices of those who dare to write about what is happening around them. My objective is always to create, with the greatest respect, an image that interprets their words.”

Bascove has had 36 solo exhibitions primarily in New York and Paris, including The Museum of the City of New York and the Hudson River Museum. Her work is in various collections in the US & abroad including The Museum of the City of New York, The New York Public Library, The Library and National Archives, Canada, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The U.S. Department of State, The Ransom Collection, Washington University in St. Louis, Metropolitan Transit Authority, and Musée de Cherbourg. Chosen by the US State Department’s Art in Embassies Cultural Exchange, her work was exhibited at the American Embassies of Sofia, Bulgaria and Muscat, Oman from 2016-2019. Her political and literary artwork is in the Permanent Collection of the Norman Rockwell Museum.

Three collections of Bascove’s paintings have been published: Sustenance & Desire: A Food Lover’s Anthology of Sensuality and Humor, Where Books Fall Open: A Reader’s Anthology of Wit And Passion, and Stone and Steel: Paintings & Writings Celebrating the Bridges of New York City.

Bascove has lectured widely at the Museum of the City of New York, the Arsenal in Central Park, the Central Park Conservancy, the Municipal Art Society, New York University’s Fales Library, and the Hudson River Museum, among others. As a culture writer, she has contributed to Arte Fuse, Stay Thirsty, and New York Arts Magazine.