Jim Daly

Daly Focus Blog

FOTF logo
  • Home
  • Family & Home
  • Current Events
  • Focus News
  • About

Why Did This Painting Sell for $46 Million?

 Norman Rockwell was originally paid $3,500 for the painting, a detailed illustration of an older woman and a young boy bowing their heads in prayer over a meal in the middle of a crowded restaurant. It first appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post in 1951.

And just last week the 62-year-old masterpiece, “Saying Grace,” sold at auction for $46 million.

I don’t pretend to be an art connoisseur or an expert when it comes to the valuation of the art market. There are obviously many factors that go into the pricing of any particular painting. Beauty is also in the eye of the beholder, but when something sells for $46 million it really grabs your attention.

Over the years some have criticized Rockwell for being overly myopic, that he painted images of a time and place that never really existed. I don’t subscribe to such critique. Why do people speak of these moments with despair?  There was a time when this was “normal.”  Just because we no longer lift up such moments doesn’t mean we don’t long for such peace.

But one of the very simple reasons why this Rockwell piece demanded such a price tag, I think, is because it so cleanly captured what so many intuitively want but don’t always have:

A grateful heart.

It’s a discipline we don’t always practice, but we love it when we see it modeled so elegantly, as Norman Rockwell did to high acclaim in 1951.

Sign up for the weekly e-newsletter

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news, pop culture December 9, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Related Posts

  • Keep Failing
  • The Revitalization of American Masculinity is Our Nation’s Most Pressing Need
  • Marrying your oppositeDrawing Closer to God and Each Other

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Jim-Daly President of Focus on the Family
Jim Daly
with Paul Batura

Listen to Jim’s
New Podcast

ReFocus with Jim Daly



Posts by Jim

Secular Concerns Can Be Solved by Faith-Friendly Solutions

Clinging to God Through the Pain of Depression

How to Raise Strong Believers

Topics

  • Current Events
  • Family and Home
  • Focus Events
  • Uncategorized

Daly Focus

Jim-Daly Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.

Jim Daly Blog

Home
About
Posting Guidelines
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
FAQs

Connect with Me

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
RSS