This painting has yet a third title: Looking Out to Sea. Whichever name one prefers, it seems clear that the old Captain and the young boy would rather be on that boat* than watching it from shore.
*Close inspection reveals the vessel to be a hermaphrodite brig. In English? The foremast is square-rigged, while the main mast is fore-and-aft rigged. Two different sail plans on one boat = hermaphrodite. (No, I don't know who coined the term, only that it's fairly delicate as far as sailing lingo goes.)
About the Show:
The most comprehensive traveling retrospective to date of Norman Rockwell's long career, we caught up with American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell during its stay at the Detroit Institute of Arts (on view March 8-May 31, 2009). The exhibition consists of some 44 paintings, and 323 original Saturday Evening Post covers (that were also oil paintings) spanning Rockwell's 47-year association with that magazine.
Scheduled Venues:
Akron Art Museum, Ohio: November 10, 2007-February 3, 2008
Orlando Museum of Art, Florida: March 1, 2008-May 26, 2008
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia: November 8, 2008-February 1, 2009
Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan: March 8, 2009-May 31, 2009
Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida: November 14, 2009-February 7, 2010
Wichita Art Museum, Kansas: March 6, 2010-May 30, 2010
North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh: November 6, 2010-January 30, 2011
Tacoma Art Museum, Washington: February 26, 2011-May 30, 2011
Dayton Art Institute, Ohio: November 2011 through 2012
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA: November 10, 2012-February 2, 2013
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas: March 2013 through May 2013