Well ahead of her time, Judy Goffman Cutler recognized the true value of of American Illustrations some 50 years ago. Goffman Cutler is the co-founder, along with her husband Laurence S. Cutler of the National Museum of American Illustration on Bellevue Avenue in Newport. Their collections here feature illustrations from great artists such as Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth, Maxfield Parrish, and J.C. Leyendecker.
Recently, Goffman Cutler has been involved in a project assisting George Lucas found the Cultural Arts Museum in San Francisco. This new collection would prominently feature many similar artists of the same time period. She has also been invovled in a project with film great Steven Spielberg, building a collection of Rockwell's art. Lucas and Spielberg showcased their combined collections at the Smithsoniam American Art Museum in 2010.
Goffman Culter first became interested in art when she read a book her husband presented her with "Mainstreans of Modern Art" by John E. Canaday at the University of Pennsylvania. This book influenced her to minor in art history., and in the late 1960s she began collecting illustrators. Starting as a schoolteacher with not much to invest, her early foresight into Rockwell paintings has, in time, yielded a high return rate in the past few decades.
The Cutler's extensive collection on Bellevue Avenue is a Newport treasure not to be missed. The museum is open Thursday through Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm, with guided tours at 3pm on Friday afternoons. Admission to the museum is $18 for general admission, $12 for students, $16 for seniors or military, $15 for groups of 6 or more, and $8 for children aged 5 to 12. Children under 5 are not permitted. for more information on the museum visit their website:
http://www.americanillustration.org/index.html
