Norman Rockwell and Erik Erikson

In February 1959, Norman Rockwell appeared on Edward R. Murrow’s celebrity interview television program, Person to Person. For decades, Rockwell had painted wholesome scenes of American life, and Murrow interviewed Rockwell at his home in the bucolic small town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. 

On the program, the artist described how much he and his family loved living in Stockbridge, never mentioning, of course, that they had made the town their home because it was also home to the Austin Riggs Center, a psychiatric institute where his wife, Mary, had been receiving treatment. 

Several years earlier, at a challenging time in his life, Rockwell himself had entered therapy at Riggs with a developmental psychoanalyst who went on to great renown—Erik Erikson, who was perhaps best known for coining the phrase, “identity crisis.” 

This exhibition will explore the relationship of two giants in their fields who inspired each other’s creativity in unique and important ways. This exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Austin Riggs Center, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2019.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.