Upon her retirement the principal at my children's elementary school was thrilled to receive a limited edition (they thought) painting that looks just like all of his other paintings, the cabin in the woods. I saw it and that was the first time the name and the art registered together. I thought it looked like something from an ad in the back of the Sunday Parade magazine tucked into in every newspaper in America (i.e., lowest common denominator). Maybe in years from now these will become collectible in the same way Pez containers and super-hero lunchboxes are collected. They represent a period and an audience. What I resent about the thing was mentioned already - they thought they were getting something that not only she liked, but that would have real value because of how they purchased it as a limited edition. Fool me once, shame on you. I think the PTA was fooled into believing their hard-earned dollars were going to a gift that would grow in value.

There is charm in what he was representing - but he wasn't representing anything real. That America didn't ever really exist. Except maybe for Walt Disney. I think the references to other popular illustrators are germane, though I think Parrish and Rockwell had a wider range of art they produced in their lifetimes.

SRS