(New York/ Massachusetts, 1894-1978) Lincoln the Railsplitter (Young Woodcutter), 1964, a preliminary sketch for the painting now held by the Butler Institute of American Art, signed lower right "Norman Rockwell", oil on paper laid on card, 13-5/8 x 7-3/8 in.; linen liner small flake of paint stuck to verso of liner bottom right, other small losses, yellowed varnish. Notes: [Lincoln the Railsplitter] was commissioned by the Lincoln Bank for their building in Spokane, Washington. Two works are listed in the first edition of Laurie Norton Moffatt, [Norman Rockwell: A Definitive Catalogue], published by the Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 1956. The Norman Rockwell Museum visually documents four total works related to the finished painting. This sketch appears in the noted photographs and was also used in a 1964 Reader's Digest publication. Literature: See Norman Rockwell Museum #A498 ProjectNORMAN database image reference #16190, #16206, #16207, #16208, #16209, for photographs of this sketch at the artist's studio. Horgan, Paul, "Citizen of new Salem", book section, Reader's Digest; 1964, ill. p. 234.. Provenance: Private Collection, Spokane, Washington, acquired in 1992; This artwork has been added to the catalogue raisonne addendum of Norman Rockwell: A Definitive Catalogue by Laurie Norton Moffatt, 1986

small flake of paint stuck to verso of liner bottom right, other small losses, yellowed varnish