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About Scotty |
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I'm sure that some of you are wondering about, or perhaps even find it presumptuous of me to refer to myself as "Norman Rockwell's Most Famous Child Model". Believe me when I say that it has nothing to do with ego or a misplaced sense of importance. Please indulge me in a short explanation.
One of my most treasured pieces of art is a copy
of "The Four Seasons- A Boy and His Dog". It is
signed by Norman Rockwell and contains the
following inscription:
Now, that would be reason enough to call myself
his favorite model, but it is my very strong
suspicion that Mr. Rockwell probably wrote that
same thing to many of his other models. He was
the type of person who went out of his way to
make other people feel special.
The truth of the matter is that there are two things that really made me "famous". First of all I was chosen to appear with him on the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" television show when I was a young boy. Besides appearing on two Saturday Evening Post Covers, I modeled for a variety of commercial illustrations, some as obscure as the back of a butter box (Kraft Foods) - artwork that most people will never see. I had enough interaction with him to fill a 312 page book- the award winning "Symbol of America- Norman Rockwell". The book is a limited edition that I co-authored with Herscell Gordon Lewis in 1982. Herscell is, in his own right, famous as a filmmaker and author.
I mentioned that there were two things that contributed to my fame. The Bradford Exchange, the famous producer of collectibles, can claim the majority of responsibility for making the name "Scotty" famous among collectors of Rockwell memorabilia. The Rockwell Society Christmas plate, produced by Ridgewood China and issued by the Bradford Exchange in 1974, was named "Scotty Gets His Tree". Any collector of Rockwell plates will recognize "Scotty Gets His Tree" as the original Rockwell plate that was so popular that it skyrocketed in value on the secondary market from its original issue price of $24.50. Bradford continued to spread the "Scotty" name with the release of "Scotty Plays Santa"- the 1980 Rockwell Society Christmas plate. My likeness also appeared on another Rockwell Society
 plate released in 1975, but this time they didn't use the name "Scotty". Collectors will remember this plate as the "Angel with a Black Eye".
Later, another company called Lynell Studios,
which has long since gone out of business,
released plates called "Scotty's Stowaway",
"Scotty Strikes a Bargain" and "Scotty Goes
Shopping". Scotty, Scotty, Scotty.
When I was invited to a collectibles show in
South Bend, Indiana circa 1979, I was
overwhelmed by collectors who wanted to meet me,
have me sign their plates and then, much to my
surprise, they packed an auditorium to listen to
me reminisce about my experiences with America's
most beloved artist. Metaphorically speaking,
the collectors wanted to shake the hand of the
man who shook the hand of Norman Rockwell.
Needless to say, the name "Scotty" had become
well known. I never knew until then the depth of
love that collectors had for Norman Rockwell. I
spent the next few years traveling around the
United States and Canada speaking to collectors
groups and working on my book. I became Director
of the Norman Rockwell Collectors Club sponsored
by Dave Grossman Creations. It was a whirlwind
life but very exciting nonetheless. My job was
certainly a labor of love. I went on to pursue
other business ventures and raised two great
boys. I never did, however, lose my love and my
passion for Norman Rockwell and I never tire of
talking about him.
Hence this Website and this Club. My intention
and my goal is to communicate with people from
all around the world who share my love of the
artist. I want to hear from you, share stories
with you and generally contribute to keeping the
memory of this giant fresh for generations to
come.
You will find a section on this site where you
can view rare photographs of Rockwell and me. I
think you will find them interesting and, in
some cases, quite touching. They will certainly
give you a good idea of what was involved in the
modeling process. You'll also get to see what
was my favorite part of the modeling session-
when he bought me a milkshake!
Members of the club can follow my blog which is
a newsletter on steroids. Some of the blog post
will be written and some in video. You will
learn about my experiences with Rockwell, meet
some other Rockwell models and learn other
interesting facts about the life and art of
Norman Rockwell.There will be an amazing contest
for a signed Rockwell print. And it's all FREE!
But my members will also be involved in a higher
calling. Your interest in Rockwell keeps him in
the limelight and you can share your knowledge
with kids especially. It drives me nuts when I
meet young people who have never heard of
Rockwell. So follow my blog and you will become
an expert on the life of Norman Rockwell and be
part of a community of folks who, like me, want
to keep Rockwell...
RELEVANT, RECOGNIZED AND REMEMBERED.
Thank You
Scotty Ingram
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