A Norman Rockwell moment
hanging in his kitchen for close to 40 years.”
How the Grant family came to own the painting might be an even better story.
Robert Grant was playing pool at a friend’s house in 1954 when he drew his cue back a bit too dramatically, damaging one of four Norman Rockwell paintings in the room.
In a “you break it, you buy it” moment, Grant paid the pal $ 50 for the piece, according to his son.
For Grant’s children, being reunited with the painting was emotional.
“It was the one thing in the house that everybody cared about because my dad thought it was such a special thing,” John Grant said. His parents are now deceased.
The work was insured for $ 15,000, and insurer Chubb made a payout to the Grants back in the 1970s. With that payment, Chubb retained ownership of the missing painting, said Robert Poliseno, regional executive officer of Chubb’s Mid-Atlantic Region. Once the painting was found, the insurer decided “the right thing to do” was to return it to the family for the same $ 15,000, he said. The company will donate that payment to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, he said.
How the antiques dealer ended up with the painting wasn’t revealed, but FBI agent Jake Archer said the dealer isn’t suspected of stealing it.
The painting will initially go into a storage facility, said Robert Grant’s daughter Susan Murta.
“I’m one of six kids, so we’ll store it for now and talk about it,” she said.