New England Public Radio

Norman Rockwell Paintings Sell for Over $57 Million

Three Norman Rockwell paintings sold for a combined $57 million Wednesday at Sotheby’s in New York. One painting, “Saying Grace” sold for over $46 million, a record for a Rockwell painting.

“Saying Grace” depicts a woman and a boy praying over a meal in a diner. The painting was housed on loan at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts for over a decade. Museum spokesman Jeremy Clowe says it represents a central theme in Rockwell’s work. 

“You see the family at the dinner table saying their prayers, and onlookers looking with a little bit of disbelief, but also just accepting, and being able to tolerate different views,” says Clowe.

Clowe says he’s not sure if the paintings will be loaned back to the museum by their new owners. The previous record sale for a Rockwell was for the painting “Breaking Home Ties” which sold for over 15 million dollars in 2006.

 

Yankee Candle to be Sold for $1.75 Billion

South Deerfield, Massachusetts-based company Yankee Candle was sold Tuesday for $1.75 billion to the Jarden Corporation.

Yankee Candle has changed hands several times since its founder, Michael Kittredge sold the company in 1998. Reuters reported in March that Yankee Candle’s current owner, Madison Dearborn, was selling the company.

The sale to Jarden, which also owns brands like Mr. Coffee and Crock-Pot, will allow for growth in Yankee Candle’s production and international sales, according to President and CEO Harlan Kent. But Kent says little will change at the Deerfield headquarters. 

“It really is business as usual for us,” says Kent. “The fourth quarter of the year is the biggest and most important for us and we’re starting that as we speak.”

Kent says Yankee Candle employs about 1,600 people in western Massachusetts, and will continue to produce 70 percent of its products in the region.

Deerfield’s Interim Town Administrator Wendy Foxmyn says the move seems good for the future of the company, and the town of Deerfield.

The sale is expected to be finalized early in the fourth quarter of this year.