A copy of this picture hung in the entrance of the Scout office is Racine for many years, when the office was shut down, the picture was given to the donor's nephew and it hangs in his house. I get to see it often and it is a reminder of the simple life of a Scoutmaster. No one knows what this man does for a living, he could be a top executive or a grocery bagger. In those days, when he is wearing his uniform and leading his Troop, he is a hero to his Scouts!
“THE SCOUTMASTER”
Norman Rockwell
1956
The man, muscular and taunt, stands uniformed but he is not
militaristic, a policeman or a hunter; he carries no weapon on his
person or badge of office. No threats are presented, yet the man
stands watch nonetheless, his modestly ringed hand resting on
his hip, his stick raking the coals as a gentle wisp of smoke
flutters in the nighttime air. The man's face is directed off-canvas,
we know not at what, yet his expression reveals no tension; his
gaze seems more inward than outward. By the different colored
hair of the boys, we can see that they are not his, yet he watches
over them as if they were his own.
The small tripod stands over the fire, lashed together with line
whose unraveled ends hang out; these are the knots seemingly
tied by the hands of a novice. An aluminum pot hangs off the
tripod, a coffee pot rests nearby and rocks and small stumps ring
the faint fire; hunger or want is of no concern in this scene.
Instead, Rockwell presents an image of quiet calm; of a man
standing silently as the entrusted leader of future men.
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