NORMAN ROCKWELL | In a Wonderful Bargain Bag

Galerie DeTours, Carmel, California
Arlene and Forrest Winston Page, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, circa 1962 (acquired from the above)

The Farmer's Wife, October 1927, n.p., illustrated 
Laurie Norton Moffatt, Norman Rockwell: Catalogue Raisonné, vol. I, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 1986, no. A783, p. 547, illustrated 

The canvas is unlined and there is frame abrasion at edges. There are stretcher bar marks at top, bottom and left edges, isolated areas of surface cracking and the work retains a discolored varnish. There is a patch on the reverse that appears to correspond to a repaired tear in the bottom of the woman's dress. Under UV: there is inpainting in the woman's dress that corresponds to the patch, a spot in the chair at right and a few other scattered dots in the background.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Norman Rockwell painted In a Wonderful Bargain Bag in 1927 as part of an advertising campaign for Sun-Maid Growers of California, the largest raisin and dried fruit processor in the world. As one of five advertisements Rockwell created for the company, the present work is a remarkable example of the artist’s genius for subtle but highly effective marketing. His ability to sell a product by integrating it seamlessly into a compelling idealized world made him a favorite of the industry. By the mid-1920s, Rockwell’s aesthetic was almost synonymous with new brand promotion. Appearing in such publications as Collier’s and Life, the poignant images he produced for many of the country’s most familiar companies and products came to set the standard for other artists of the age, and helped to influence the purchasing habits of millions of Americans.In a Wonderful Bargain Bag displays the artist’s classic form of advertising: charming scenes infused with warmth and nostalgia that showed Americans the best versions of themselves. Here Rockwell depicts an older woman pouring raisins into the outstretched palms of a smiling young boy, possibly her grandchild, while several other children peer through the doorway, eagerly awaiting their turn to receive the same treat. Rockwell’s primary goal was to promote Sun-Maid Growers of California and he positions the bag of raisins at the center of the composition. Meticulously painted with exacting detail and a contrasting palette, the bag immediately engages the viewer.  The more expressive and painterly application of paint is typical of Rockwell’s early work, but his characteristic ability to render the naturalistic details of a scene is simultaneously demonstrated in such elements as the woman’s crisp white apron, the boy’s shoes and the fur of the dog that gazes eagerly at the raisins, hoping one will fall to the ground.