Auction: 11:00 AM Central Time, Friday, November 14

Our curators picked their favorite items from our upcoming November 14 American Art Signature® Auction.
| Aviva's Picks Aviva Lehmann | Senior Vice President, American Art
Norman Rockwell So You Want to See the President!, The Saturday Evening Post interior, November 13, 1943
Created at the height of Norman Rockwell's artistic maturity, this four-panel suite embodies his profound ability to capture the intimate yet monumental moments of democracy. Commissioned during wartime and presented by Rockwell to FDR's Press Secretary Stephen T. Early—later held by Early's direct descendants—it represents an extraordinary convergence of history, artistry, and provenance. Among the rarest and most significant Rockwell works to appear on the market in recent years, So You Want to See the President! stands as a landmark of American visual storytelling.
Norman Rockwell Forward America, 1951
I'm particularly drawn to this piece because it represents a shining example of Norman Rockwell's longstanding and meaningful work for the Boy Scouts of America. Created in 1951 during Rockwell's period of greatest technical mastery and moral clarity, the painting unites his signature realism with a powerful message of generational service, civic readiness, and national purpose. What makes the offerings from the BSA Settlement Trust even more special and deeply meaningful is that 100% of the proceeds will benefit survivors of childhood sexual abuse, giving this historic sale an enduring legacy of healing and hope.
Joseph Christian Leyendecker Thanksgiving Crest, The Saturday Evening Post cover, November 26, 1932
This is one of my absolute favorites in the auction—a quintessential work by J.C. Leyendecker, an undisputed master of Golden Age illustration and the artist Norman Rockwell himself revered. Thanksgiving Crest is Leyendecker at his wittiest: the semi-plucked bird perched above the praying children is cheeky, ironic, and unmistakably brilliant. With its impeccable Michael Dolas provenance, this painting connects two generations of America's great illustrators—making it not only historically rich, but deeply personal and irresistibly charming.
| Liz's Picks Liz Goodridge | VP, West Coast Director, American Art
Frank Weston Benson Children in the Woods, 1898
Heritage is honored to present a robust section of American Impressionism this season and this work by Frank Weston Benson is a leader among them. The subjects depicted are familiar—the painting centers the artist's young children, Eleanor and George— who are affectionately rendered in a number of the artist's most accomplished plein air paintings, including an example at the Metropolitan Museum of Art under the same title. The fragmented construction of the landscape forms an intricate woodland canopy—woven with streaks of lime and dark green, blue, brown and bright rose—creating a spectacular show of Benson's very tactile brushwork which transports the viewer to the forests of North Haven, Maine, where the present work was painted. The work's impressive size (52 x 52 inches framed) make this offering a significant opportunity for any collector seeking works of great impact.
William James Glackens Bathers at the Lake, Conway, New Hampshire, circa 1920
This work by Glackens is the artist at his best. In contrast to the artist's bustling scenes of New York City's downtown parks and crowded ocean beaches of New England, this painting of New Hampshire, distills the artist's own leisurely escape during his summer respite on Walker Pond (now Conway Lake). This composition radiates the joy and bountiful feeling of late summer—the shoreline landscape and mountains in the distance are bursting with summer's blooms and the lake temperatures must be a delight for the family crowd seeking refuge from the heat. Glackens' color palette is electric and his charged brushwork is truly a delight to see.
Frederick Carl Frieseke Bather (Bather Undressing), by 1915
This work is a radiant example of Friseke's nude subejcts en plein air. In 1915 when he wrote to his representatives at Macbeth Gallery, he explained that his aim with these compositions was "to attain the purity of color and truth of light effect." This lot is proof of his success in achieving such qualities in his paintings. The dappled sunspots across the standing figure and the dense brushwork that constructs the water and foliage behind her create a truly breathtaking display. Completely fresh to market, Bather (Bather Undressing) has been held in the same private family collection for decades, since at least the 1960s. The public was fortunate enough to see this painting on display at the Fred Jones Jr., Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma since 2021 where the present owners generously had it on loan. Its inclusion in this auction now allows for another fortunate collector or institution to enjoy its beauty for decades to come.
| Emily's Picks Emily Spahn | Associate Specialist and Lead Cataloger, American Art
Charles Wysocki Pass the Red Fox Tavern
Pass the Red Fox Tavern by Charles Wysocki beautifully captures his signature nostalgic vision of 19th-century New England life. Trained as a commercial illustrator, Wysocki developed a style of decorative precision that transforms ordinary village scenes into richly patterned worlds filled with warmth and order. In this winter landscape, the viewer is drawn into a cozy Americana setting—smokestacks rising into a pale sky, horse-drawn sleighs gliding past the Red Fox Tavern, and tidy rows of buildings nestled among bare trees. The balance of color, symmetry, and familiar rhythm makes this work quintessentially Wysocki, a perfect example of his ability to create scenes so detailed and inviting that I can easily get lost in it.
Joseph Csatari Scouting for All Seasons, 1991
Scouting for All Seasons by Joseph Csatari captures the timeless spirit of the Boy Scouts, reflecting on their sense of adventure, preparedness, and community. While uniforms and gear may change with each decade and season, the essence of scouting remains constant—teaching resilience, teamwork, and self-reliance. The familiar compass symbolizes both guidance and tradition, reminding us that while fashion is fleeting, the values of scouting never waver. I love this work because it stands as a testament to the enduring adventures and growth each scout experiences throughout the seasons.
| Max's Picks Max Condon | Associate Specialist, Fine & Decorative Arts
Norman Rockwell Adventure Trail, 1952
Of all his work with the Boy Scouts, Rockwell's teaching moments are among the most dynamic. For him, the cycle of learning, growth, and leadership was the heart of Scout's mission, and it's on full display in this backyard lesson. The vibrant colors of the uniforms pop against the mellow tones of grass and tree, and the simple framing of the white picket fence grounds the scene. Plus, it's always nice to see a Rockwell dog.
Norman Rockwell A Scout is Friendly, 1943
A Scout is Friendly is a perfect example of Rockwell's elevation of the everyday. A snapshot moment of asking for directions becomes imbued with meaning as the young scout and his flag form a barrier between family and headlines of war. Huddled around a roadmap, Rockwell finds a quiet humanity in uncertainty, driven by the small gestures of kindness that hold us together.
| Julia's Picks Julia Matthiesen | Fine Art Department Coordinator, New York
Ernie Barnes Easy Shot, 1971
Few artists captured movement and humanity quite like Ernie Barnes. In Easy Shot, the artist transforms a simple game of pool into a moment of poetry. Set in a smoky Southern pool hall, the painting transforms the casual game into a meditation on rhythm, grace, and human connection. Barnes's elongated figures and fluid gestures capture both motion and emotion with cinematic precision. The atmospheric light and rich tonal palette evoke the warmth and dignity of the community he so often portrayed. Commissioned by television producer Saul Turteltaub, whose name appears in the composition, Easy Shot stands as a quintessential example of Barnes's vision: art that celebrates the soul of ordinary experience through movement, memory, and mastery of form.
Joseph Christian Leyendecker New Year's Baby, The Saturday Evening Post cover, January 3, 1920
Leyendecker's beloved New Year's Baby was among his most iconic and enduring creations, appearing annually on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post for decades. The 1920 example stands among the artist's most memorable. The cherub, wearing an oversized top hat and hiding a bottle of contraband behind his back, marks America's uneasy toast to Prohibition. The wooden camel, a clever nod to the "dry spell" ahead, underscores Leyendecker's unmatched wit and cultural attunement. New Years Baby, 1920 epitomizes the artist's mastery of modern illustration and his remarkable ability to fuse humor, elegance, and history into a single unforgettable image.
View these and other important works of American Art in our American Art Signature® Auction. This auction's session time is 11:00 AM Central Time, Friday, November 14. Sincerely,
|  | Aviva Lehmann Senior Vice President, American Art AvivaL@HA.com (212) 486-3530
|  | Liz Goodridge VP, West Coast Director, American Art LizG@HA.com (214) 409-3223
|  | Emily Spahn Associate Specialist and Lead Cataloger, American Art ESpahn@HA.com (214) 409-1371
|  | Max Condon Associate Specialist, Fine & Decorative Arts MaxC@HA.com (312) 260-7234
|  | Julia Matthiesen Fine Art Department Coordinator, New York JuliamM@HA.com (214) 409-3051