1970s Norman Rockwell “Sneaking Out” Tom Sawyer Suite Limited-Edition Collotype, 7/200

Details

Description

A hand-numbered 7/200 color collotype from Norman Rockwell’s celebrated Tom Sawyer Suite, professionally matted and ready for reframing.

Sneaking Out … Read more A hand-numbered 7/200 color collotype from Norman Rockwell’s celebrated Tom Sawyer Suite, professionally matted and ready for reframing.

Sneaking Out captures one of the mischievous, quietly theatrical moments that made Rockwell’s illustrations for Mark Twain so memorable. A young Tom Sawyer appears at the window, caught between the safety of home and the pull of adventure beyond—a wonderfully understated scene of childhood independence, curiosity, and rule-breaking.

Originally created for the 1936 Heritage Press edition of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the illustration was later issued as a limited fine-art collotype. This impression was printed in Austria by Arthur Jaffe Heliochrome, Vienna, and distributed in the United States by Circle Gallery.

Collotype is a specialized printing process prized for its ability to reproduce exceptionally subtle tonal transitions, painterly texture, and fine detail. This work belongs to a deliberately produced limited fine-art edition rather than a modern decorative poster or standard offset reproduction.

This example is hand-numbered 7/200 in pencil and bears Rockwell’s plate signature, as issued.

A Story Behind the Art:
When publisher George Macy invited Rockwell to illustrate Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Rockwell approached the assignment with particular enthusiasm. To better understand the setting of Twain’s stories, he traveled to Hannibal, Missouri, studying the town, architecture, landscape, and atmosphere firsthand.

That attention to authenticity is evident throughout the series. Rather than treating Twain’s characters as idealized literary figures, Rockwell gave them believable gestures, expressions, and environments—allowing small moments such as this one to feel immediate and genuinely observed.

Artwork Details:
Artist: Norman Rockwell, 1894–1978
Title: Sneaking Out
Series: Tom Sawyer Suite
Medium: Color collotype on paper
Edition: 7/200, hand-numbered in pencil
Signature: Plate-signed, as issued
Printer: Arthur Jaffe Heliochrome, Vienna, Austria
Distributor: Circle Gallery, United States
Date: Early 1970s, after the original 1936 illustration
Presentation: Professionally matted; currently unframed

The original frame was damaged beyond repair during a move and was removed. The existing matting was retained and remains in very good condition, allowing the work to be readily reframed to suit a new interior.

Dimensions:
Paper size: 20 x 26 inches
Image size: approx. 15.5 x 20 inches
Mat opening: approx. 17.25 x 23 inches

Provenance:
From a private Somis, California estate, where a group of Rockwell’s Tom Sawyer collotypes was displayed together for many years as a coordinated collection.

Additional Norman Rockwell collotypes from the same Tom Sawyer Suite are available separately, including framed and unframed companion works. See less