TGD
09-21-2008, 11:21 PM
A Norman Rockwell ‘Runaway’ favorite is honored
A classic: State Trooper Richard Clemens was the cop and Ed Locke was the kid in this classic Norman Rockwell painting ‘The Runaway.’ Massachusetts State Police honored the pair yesterday.
Since its debut on the Saturday Evening Post 50 years ago, Norman Rockwell’s “The Runaway” has been an enduring American icon gracing the walls of police stations and diners nationwide.
Massachusetts State Police yesterday honored the original models for the friendly state trooper in blue and the little runaway boy - retired statie Richard Clemens and Ed Locke, local handyman.
“I’m honored,” said Locke who remembers being the lucky 8-year-old who got to take the day off from school to pose for Rockwell. “It’s an important symbol to the Massachusetts police and I’m proud of that.”
“There’s a soft spot in the heart of every police officer for that painting,” said Clemens, who was 29 when he posed. “ Police work is far from what you see on TV. . . It’s dealing with people in times of crisis and sometimes in humorous situations.”
Col Mark F. Delaney, state police superintendent, said the illustration “speaks to one of the most basic and important duties that a police officer can fulfill - to be there to help someone in a time of need.”
“It’s based on Rockwell’s own experience being a runaway from home,” explained Audrey Manring, spokeswoman for the Norman Rockwell Museum in the town of Stockbridge, where Rockwell lived for the last 25 years of his life.
“What he imagined is a scene where the boy is intercepted before running away. In the end you imagine that the police officer turns the boy home after.”
Celebrations for “The Runaway” will continue today at the museum. For more information vist www.nrm.org.
A classic: State Trooper Richard Clemens was the cop and Ed Locke was the kid in this classic Norman Rockwell painting ‘The Runaway.’ Massachusetts State Police honored the pair yesterday.
Since its debut on the Saturday Evening Post 50 years ago, Norman Rockwell’s “The Runaway” has been an enduring American icon gracing the walls of police stations and diners nationwide.
Massachusetts State Police yesterday honored the original models for the friendly state trooper in blue and the little runaway boy - retired statie Richard Clemens and Ed Locke, local handyman.
“I’m honored,” said Locke who remembers being the lucky 8-year-old who got to take the day off from school to pose for Rockwell. “It’s an important symbol to the Massachusetts police and I’m proud of that.”
“There’s a soft spot in the heart of every police officer for that painting,” said Clemens, who was 29 when he posed. “ Police work is far from what you see on TV. . . It’s dealing with people in times of crisis and sometimes in humorous situations.”
Col Mark F. Delaney, state police superintendent, said the illustration “speaks to one of the most basic and important duties that a police officer can fulfill - to be there to help someone in a time of need.”
“It’s based on Rockwell’s own experience being a runaway from home,” explained Audrey Manring, spokeswoman for the Norman Rockwell Museum in the town of Stockbridge, where Rockwell lived for the last 25 years of his life.
“What he imagined is a scene where the boy is intercepted before running away. In the end you imagine that the police officer turns the boy home after.”
Celebrations for “The Runaway” will continue today at the museum. For more information vist www.nrm.org.