By Shari Randall
Traveling through the Berkshires after a holiday visit to
upstate New York was a great excuse to stop in charming Stockbridge,
Massachusetts, to visit the Norman Rockwell Museum.
Rockwell, who preferred the term “illustrator” to “painter,”
was a meticulous artist who designed his scenes, chose and posed his models,
photographed them, and only when satisfied with the photos, used them to guide
the final painting of his artwork. This painstaking process produced some of
the best loved images of all time. Exhibits of his iconic Four Freedoms raised
over a million dollars in war bonds during World War II, a stunning amount for
the time. His art appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post 323 times. His work, considered sentimental
or false by some critics, is undergoing a reappraisal and is hotly collected by
tastemakers such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. An exhibit of his work
at the Smithsonian broke records.
That’s why it was so shocking to hear about the Rockwell
cover the Saturday Evening Post
rejected, the work that, despite its celebrity firepower, failed to make the
cut and was never published.
In 1948, Rockwell did a drawing he called Murder Mystery, or Who-Dun-It. Rockwell’s
intent was to present a classic drawing room murder mystery that the viewer
would solve from the clues in the picture. Instead of choosing his subjects
from his friends and neighbors as was his custom, Rockwell went Hollywood. He
approached Ethel Barrymore to portray the lady of the manor; Linda Darnell as a
glamorous actress; Boris Karloff as the chef; Loretta Young as the maid; Clifton
Webb as the butler; Richard Widmark as a disreputable gentleman with a riding
crop; and Lassie as, well, Lassie. Van Johnson plays The Body, with only his
legs and feet portrayed, splayed on the carpet.
Rockwell said, “I’d show a murdered man surrounded by
his friends and relatives, one of whom had done him in. The clues to the
solution would be present in the picture and Post readers would be asked to
solve the crime.”
Here’s a link to the museum image and here’s my photo. The
clues are hidden in the details, so enlarge away! http://collection.nrm.org/search.do?id=630050&db=object&view=full
 |
| photo by the author |
Standing in front of the painting,
tucked away in a side gallery, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the quality
of the work. The mystery? That was another thing. A Boy Scout standing next to
me pondered the painting for a good five minutes. He sighed. And tilted his
head to look closer. And sighed again.
I understood how he felt. I thought
one solution was obvious, but, could see a case for others. A man wearing a
Bruins sweatshirt joined us in front of Murder
Mystery and peered close at the work. We exchanged glances and guesses.
We all chose a different suspect.
That was the problem. The Saturday
Evening Post agreed with me and the Boy Scout and the Bruins fan. After
Rockwell presented Murder Mystery to
the editorial board of The Saturday
Evening Post, the Post test-drove
it with staff. The work was rejected, the Post
editors explained, because not one staffer came within “miles of the correct
answer.” I have a feeling that mystery readers may do better than the staff of
the 1948 Saturday Evening Post but
still, the solution is not clear cut.
So dear readers, take a look.
Who-Dun-It? Put your guesses in the comments and I’ll check in later with
the correct answer. Well, with the artist’s answer. Your solution may vary.
Wow, this was a hard choice. What a great drawing. I'm going with Ethel, the lady of a certain age. She is the only one drinking the tea and it looks to me like poor Van Johnson died by the cup!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea such a sketch existed, or that Rockwell produced anything that hadn't made it to the magazine cover. What a wonderful museum, and what a wonderful artist. Great pictures, Shari.
I'm going with the butler or maid. They would have served the tea.
ReplyDeleteI like your guesses!
ReplyDeleteI was so surprised to see this work - I thought I'd seen every Norman Rockwell painting a million times. It was such a treat to see so many works that were new to me.
Shari, I've been to the Norman Rockwell museum and really enjoyed it, but I don't remember that picture. I also have a huge album of Norman Rockwell pictures that I bought at a garage sale. I'll be going back later to your blog to see if I can figure out who done it. I don't think it is in my book.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to that Norman Rockwell museum, but there is one in Philadelphia that I quite enjoyed. Jan's brother talked about visiting a Rockwell museum where "the admission was free, but it cost me $100 to get out of the gift shop."
ReplyDelete~ Jim
It was Lassie. The least likely suspect is the guilty one.
ReplyDeleteThis might be the obvious guess: the butler did it! The tea couldn't have been poisoned because someone else, still alive, was drinking it. But the butler is hiding a gun in his pocket, so the dead guy must have been shot dead.
ReplyDeleteHi Gloria, I wonder if they only show it at certain times of the year? It was off the main gallery, tucked away near a temporary Christmas exhibit.
ReplyDeleteHi Jim, I can't stop laughing - my husband can relate to this - I always hit up the gift shops!
ReplyDeleteHi Warren, Yup, it's always the innocent looking ones - but in this case, Lassie is blameless.
ReplyDeleteHi Barb,
ReplyDeleteYou have pointed out the problem with Who Dun It.
The museum description explains how Rockwell did his due diligence on the murder weapon. The beautiful plant in the lower corner is the source of the poison. Rockwell borrowed it from a college botany department (the school told him not to "leave it lying around.") So the tea is poisoned and the broken cup is supposed to be the big clue.
However, as you pointed out, what about everyone else drinking the poisoned tea? Could the poison have been only in The Body's cup if it was made with leaves from that plant? Maybe? But it's not clear from the picture and we can't tell if there are other wounds, made with the gun in the butler's pocket, or knife in the lady's hat, or shears in the maid's pocket. Could the dandy have beaten him with that walking stick? And what's up with the chef's hands? Too many clues!
I would have chosen the young woman -- glamorous actress? -- just judging by the look on her face. Fun post!
ReplyDeleteI'd go with the old lady. She has a satisfied look about her, as if she has accomplished something major. And I see her drinking her own tea as intended to assure everyone that the tea was not, in fact, poisoned.
ReplyDeleteIt seems likely to me that the old lady would have been "mother," as they say, ("Shall I be mother?") to serve the tea, and could either introduce something into one person's tea, or select a cup in which the poison had already been placed.
But there are so many clues!
My favorite coffee mug has Norman Rockwell's "Freedom of Speech" picture on it. It was given to some of us who served in an advisory role to the union negotiating team during a strike in which I participated. I still maintain my membership in the Teamster's Union, although on "withdrawn" status so I don't have to pay union dues. It can be reactivated with a small payment.
Seven people, six biscuits. The gentleman ate a poisoned dessert. The lady of the house isn'afraid to drink the tea, she knows it is safe. She has no murder weapon about her person, she knows she won't need it. Her motive lies in the incriminating letters on her lap.
ReplyDeleteIs there a place one can buy a copy of this sketch? When we saw at museum they said sketches not always on display.
ReplyDeleteWayfair has it for sale
ReplyDelete