Willie Gillis - Modern References

Modern References

The woman who posed for illustrations of Gillis' girlfriend was included in the 90-minute PBS American Masters series film Norman Rockwell: Painting America. The film coincided with the first comprehensive Rockwell touring exhibition, entitled Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People, which was a seven-city tour. The High Museum of Art and the Norman Rockwell Museum produced the exhibition that started at the High Museum on November 6, 1999, stopped at the Chicago Historical Society, Corcoran Gallery of Art, San Diego Museum of Art, Phoenix Art Museum, and Norman Rockwell Museum before concluding at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on February 11, 2002. After the official tour ended, his post covers were on display at the Florida International Museum from April 2002 until June 16, 2002. In September 2002, they were exhibited at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts. During the first 16 days of the fair, through Saturday September 28, the attendance was 1,052,511. From 2006 through 2010 Gillis appeared along with the Four Freedoms and Rosie The Riveter in a travelling exhibition entitled Norman Rockwell in the 1940s: A View of the American Homefront. The 44-piece exhibition was organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum and made stops in places such as the Pensacola Museum of Art (April–July 2006), Rogers Historical Museum (June–August 2007), James A. Michener Art Museum (October 19, 2007 – February 10, 2008) and National Museum of the Marine Corps (September 28, 2009 – January 9, 2010).