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“Norman Rockwell and Baseball” Photo Gallery
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Gee, Thanks Brooks!
Before we say our final goodbye to the great Brooks Robinson, who passed away last Tuesday at age 86, I thought it would be fitting to take a look at Norman Rockwell’s wonderful 1971 painting of Brooks signing an autograph for a young baseball fan. It was originally titled, “Gee, Thanks Brooks” and is among Mr. Rockwell’s most popular baseball paintings, along with “The Dugout” and The Three Umpires, both of which I’ve featured recently.
A little background: In 2015 Brooks opened up his trophy case to bidders at Heritage Auctions. The treasure trove from his long career included Gold Glove Awards, his 1964 MVP Award, a pair of World Series rings, and countless other valuable items. All the proceeds from the auction went to the Constance and Brooks Robinson Charitable Foundation.
Probably the most important item auctioned off was this painting, “Gee, Thanks Brooks.” The Hall of Fame third baseman had originally bought it himself at auction in 1994 for $200,000. That proved to be a very shrewd investment. I wasn’t able to find out how much it went for at the 2015 auction, but last year, a Rockwell painting featuring Ted Williams went for $22 million. So suffice it to say that this painting fetched a sizeable sum for the Robinson Foundation.
I read an interesting article today by Kevin Kernan posted on the Ballnine website. Two years ago, Kernan viewed the painting in person at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where it was displayed on loan from a private owner. The museum announced recently that the painting will be put back on display until October 29 as a way to honor Brooks at the time of his passing.
Kevin remembers that “the first thing you notice about the painting is its incredible detail.” He had some interesting observations about the painting:
- Brooks is depicted writing left-handed. This is accurate as he was a natural lefty, except in throwing and hitting.
- It’s the only Rockwell painting of an individual baseball player.
- Rockwell himself is in the painting. He’s the man on the right chomping on a cigar.
- There are about 11 different facial features (mostly of local Stockbrige neighbors of Rockwell) in the painting that are all different.
- The gentleman with his hand to the side of his face behind Brooks is Mr. Rockwell’s photographer, Louie Lamone.
- A local Stockbridge family, the Bergmans, are sitting in the front row, Henry and Sally Bergman and their children. Hank is getting the autograph and his sister Johanna is looking on, next to Rockwell.
- Details in the painting include: the hair on Brooks’ arms, the name “Rawlings” on his glove and on the tongue of his spikes, and the name “Adirondack” on his bats.
- In looking at this painting, “you can go back in time when players signed autographs like this and the fans were right on top of the player. And all the facial expressions are wonderful.”
Norman Rockwell in his studio at the time of the Brooks Robinson painting
Kernan has a nice summation of what Brooks Robinson met to baseball and how fitting is this portrayal of him in Norman Rockwell’s masterpiece:
“Brooks Robinson didn’t just belong to Orioles fans, he belonged to all baseball fans because of the way he played the game – and as the painting showed, he really belonged to all the youngsters who wanted to be just like Brooks Robinson… Thinking back on that painting today, it says so much about where baseball once was, the special place it held in our hearts, the little things that made it America’s Game, and where the game is going today.”
Brooks Robinson has left us…and we may never see his likes again. We will always remember him fondly in this great painting.
Gary Livacari
Source: Quotes and background information from article on Ballnine website, October 2, 2023 by Kevin Kernan
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