Some truths (and not) of Norman Rockwell in Cedar Rapids

When a guy like Norman Rockwell comes to a place like Cedar Rapids, you expect the rumors to fly - even 65 years later.

So, having written a couple of times about his visit, I just had to catch the exhibit of his five Saturday Evening Post watercolors and assorted photographs at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art before it ends Jan. 3.

“They have so much more meaning in this town than they would anywhere else,” says Terry Pitts, executive director of the museum, as we stop in front of a huge reproduction of the final watercolor. It's the one where voter Junius P. Wimple, pleased to have picked the winner, smiles with his arms crossed and a cigar in his mouth while behind him a soldier and his girl celebrate as confetti falls.

It was, after all, the summer of 1944, the midst of World War II, when Rockwell came to Cedar Rapids. He had local photographer Wes Panek capture a handful of locals on film at the old Cleveland Elementary School to use as models for the paintings he would complete in his Vermont studio.

As shown by a pair of accompanying photographs, this painting was a compilation. A man poses with arms crossed in one photo while two jovial models pose in the other. You even see a hand holding the hem of the woman's skirt out to simulate movement.

“That's what amazed us, how methodical he was,” Terry says. “He photographed everything before he came to this.”

Perusing the background photos and the fact/fiction information will fascinate you, too, as you see the election day essay come alive for the Nov. 4, 1944, magazine.

While there, you'll see the museum's fact and fiction information. But, just for fun, here's mine:

Fact: Norman Rockwell was 50 when he came to Cedar Rapids.

Fiction: He came alone. Actually his wife, Mary, accompanied him.

Fact: Only two of the five watercolor paintings actually depict Cedar Rapids - the main inside painting of voters waiting in line at the school and the two men trying to sway Wimple's vote.

Fiction: The sixth painting of the series, the magazine cover showing Wimple making up his mind while standing in a voting booth, is in Cedar Rapids. (That's only an issue of the magazine you see in this exhibit. The original is said to be in a private collection, although no one seems to know where.)

Fact: All photos were taken in black and white. Rockwell added his own color schemes.

Fiction: Wimple is deceased Cleveland school custodian E.F. Bernstorf. While he did pose for photographs, Rockwell apparently changed his mind and used regular model George Zimmer of Vermont who does bear a resemblance to Bernstorf.

Fact: The Cedar Rapids museum had to pay the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass., $50 per print to display them in this show.

Fiction: Rockwell's models posed for free. Actually, they received $5.

Fact: Nobody knows how five original watercolors wound up in Cedar Rapids, although Rockwell was known to give away some of his paintings simply for the asking. They were estimated to be worth $200,000 to $300,000 in 2007.

Fiction: Wimple holds a copy of a real edition of The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette while standing in the voting booth. Actually he holds a one-of-a-kind edition which Rockwell took back to Vermont.