Winter Speaker Series: Stephanie Plunkett
February 7, 2026 2:00 pm In person at the Museum and virtually on Vimeo
Save on a Series Subscription
Get all six lectures for the price of five. Members save even more!
The Life and Work of Norman Rockwell
Stephanie Plunkett, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Beyond the legendary status that he had achieved some forty years before his death in 1978, illustrator Norman Rockwell was an accomplished painter and a complex man. A gifted storyteller and masterful technician with a distinct, personal message to convey, Rockwell created images that described universal human experiences within a particularly American context. Norman Rockwell Museum Chief Curator Stephanie Plunkett will present on the artist’s long and prodigious career, and the complex working methods that helped him bring his subjects to life, and his impact on popular culture.
About the Speaker:
Stephanie Haboush Plunkett is the Chief Curator and Rockwell Center Director of the Norman Rockwell Museum, and the curator of many exhibitions relating to Norman Rockwell and the art of illustration, including What, Me Worry? The Art and Humor of MAD Magazine; Tony Sarg: Genius at Play; Imprinted: Illustrating Race; Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms; Inventing America: Rockwell and Warhol; and The Unknown Hopper: Edward Hopper as Illustrator. She leads the Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies, an institute devoted to the study of illustration art. Drawing Lessons from the Famous Artists School; Norman Rockwell: Drawings, 1911-1976; Imprinted: Illustrating Race; Tony Sarg: Genius at Play; and Leo Lionni: Storyteller, Illustrator, Designer are recent publications. She hold an MFA/Illustration as Visual Essay degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York, and has held positions at the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, and Heckscher Museum of Art.
About Winter Speaker Series:
The Winter Speaker Series has been a cornerstone of the Newport Art Museum’s annual programming since 1928. Each year, the Winter Speaker Series Committee and Museum staff curate this series to reflect the ideas of our times and to educate, illuminate, delight, and inspire.
Join us for these in-person and live-streamed thought-provoking talks, accessible to you wherever you happen to be! All Lectures will be recorded for later viewing by in-person and virtual subscribers and ticket holders.
Each lecture will be followed by audience Q&A, and continued conversation in the galleries over hot tea, coffee, light fare, and desserts.
Together, we can positively impact our creative community. We sincerely thank the following sponsors for their partnership and support.
WINTER SPEAKER SERIES CORPORATE SPONSORS
Gold:
Bronze Sponsor
WINTER SPEAKER SERIES INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS
The Lockett Ford Ballard, Jr. Family
Johanna Becker
Angela Fischer
Mary M. Jennings Fund
Kathleen & Joseph Gallichio
Santiago & Maureen Neville
Edwina Sebest
Cynthia Sinclair
In-Kind Sponsors
Winter Speaker Series Committee
Johanna Becker, Chair
Eleanor Doumato
Joseph Gallichio
Susan Kieronski
Santiago Neville
Susan Pasquarelli
Thomas Palmer
Emilia Sywolski
Contact Susan Hanley, Director of Advancement, at 631-599-1950 (shanley@newportartmuseum.org) for more information on sponsoring the Winter Speaker Series.
Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Become a Member and Save
Among many benefits, Museum members save on Winter Speaker Series tickets.