Last Sunday, the entire clan took a pleasant drive through the foothills of the Berkshires to the quintessential New England town of Stockbridge, MA, and the Norman Rockwell Museum and Park. We had come to see The art and humor of MAD Magazine. Yes, America’s favorite trickster mascot Alfred E. Neuman and “the usual gang of idiots” in the stately galleries where many of Rockwell’s iconic paintings are on permanent display. In the exhibition, the museum’s chief curator Stephanie Plunket and the show’s guest curator Steve Brodner present printed rarities (notably the finger-painted cover by J. Fred Muggs, pictured below) and originals that would make any cartoonist and illustrator’s mouth water.

I’ve never seen the final artwork that filled my favorite magazine – and I was blown away by the detailed perfection of the work of people like Harvey Kurtzman, Will Elder, Wally Wood, Don Martin, Dave Berg, Sergio Aragonés, Al Jaffe… and the list goes on.

It was also encouraging to see the large number of visitors under MAD’s big tent. Sure, Rockwell draws a strong following of nostalgia fans, as you might expect, but that’s only a portion of the museum’s visitors. The NRM focuses much of its curatorial energy on a wider range of illustration genres and artists.

It is just far enough removed from conventional art institutions to uniquely bring together a wide range of people through their shared interest in American pop art. Our nation is so divided along social, political and cultural lines. It is uplifting to see Rockwell and MAD (both of which have had a profound impact on my life) bring so many people together.