Bob becomes Trustee Emeritus

Founding Collector Robert F. Rockwell, Jr. becomes Trustee Emeritus

June 14, 2007

CORNING, NY - On June 14, the Rockwell Museum of Western Art Board of Trustees honored founding collector Robert 'Bob' F. Rockwell, Jr. after twenty-four years of faithful, enthusiastic and passionate service to the Museum. Robert F. Rockwell, Jr. was elected a Trustee Emeritus of the Rockwell Museum of Western Art.

"Bob's passion for the Museum and his dedication to his community is honorable. The Museum is grateful for his enthusiasm and service," said Kristin Swain, executive director.

The Rockwell Museum's rich history begins with founding collector, Robert F. Rockwell's interest in the West stemmed from his childhood spent on the family's Colorado ranch. Robert F. Rockwell moved to Corning in 1933 to run his grandfather's department store. In 1940, three years after his marriage to Hertha Godley, Bob took over the department store and in 1948, Bob's father established the private Rockwell Foundation for educational and charitable purposes. And so began groundwork for what would develop into the Rockwell collection of American Western art.

Rockwell's first exposure to Western art was a series of C.M. Russell prints that hung in his father's study in their Colorado home. However, it was not until 1959 that he bought his first Western painting. Before long, Bob's collection grew significantly as a visual history of frontier America. Cowboys, settlers, Native Americans and the vast and compelling landscape of the West encapsulated the collection. Included in the collection were two-dimensional pieces by George Catlin, Alfred Jacob Miller, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, C. M. Russell, Joseph Henry Sharp, E. Irving Couse, Oscar Berninghaus, and William R. Leigh. His collection also grew to include bronzes and other sculptures by Cyrus E. Dallin, C. M. Russell and Frederic Remington.

In 1973, the Rockwell's indicated a desire to donate their extensive holdings to the community. The only provision attached to this extraordinary gift was that a museum be established to care for and exhibit the collections. In 1974, Corning Glass Works (now Corning Incorporated) provided impetus and major support to create a museum for the collection. A temporary home for the new museum, showcasing the Rockwell collection of American Western art, Native American artifacts and firearms was created in the former Baron Steuben Hotel, and the Rockwell Museum first opened in these quarters in November 1976. The City of Corning entered the picture in 1980, selling its old City Hall to the company for $1. An extensive reclamation project was undertaken in 1981 and 1982, and in June of 1982, the Rockwell Museum was opened to the public in a new home. In 2006, the Rockwell Museum celebrated its 30th anniversary.

And so the story has continued to evolve and the Rockwell Museum has paved new paths, providing to the community a lasting legacy, and remains a true testimony to the Rockwell family's generosity.