After 5: Springfield artist, Norman Rockwell unite in scouting exhibit

Springfield artist Ross B. Young never thought he'd share the spotlight with Norman Rockwell. Yet after 16 years of producing paintings for the Boy Scouts, that's just where he finds himself.

"It's an honor. I grew up looking at Saturday Evening Post covers by Norman Rockwell," Young says. "To be able to walk in and see Norman Rockwell paintings next to mine, I'm just tickled."

Young's and Rockwell's shared interest in the Boy Scouts of America come together through Feb. 12 at Missouri State University's Student Exhibition Center, 838 E. Walnut St. The works - 22 in all, including three by Rockwell and three by his protégé, Joseph Csatari - were unveiled at the Ozark Trails Council Clarence and Edna Wheeler Scout Service Center and moved to MSU's gallery last week.

Dr. Michael S. Clarke of Clarke Orthopedic Clinic is responsible for bringing together the artists' works, a task that took five years to accomplish. "It was his baby," Young says.

Clarke is a Boy Scouts of America national board member and president of Area 5, which includes Missouri. He says that position gave him bargaining power with the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas, through which he secured the Rockwells. Clarke says each one is worth more than $1 million.

"Perhaps they're the most valuable paintings to ever be displayed in Springfield," he says. "They're generally not ever allowed on display in smaller cities."

It cost the local council about $3,000 just to transport the artwork. "It would have been much more if it were an exclusive arrangement," Clarke says. "They had other Rockwells going to Chicago, and we were on the line."

The Rockwell and Csatari paintings are Boys' Life magazine covers, while Young's works are paintings commissioned by the Ozark Trails Council as thank-you gifts to donors of $1,000 or more. There are 16 of Young's original paintings in the show - one for each year of the partnership. Several of Young's limited edition prints sold for $1,000 apiece at his presentation during the Jan. 24 exhibit unveiling at the Scout Service Center. "They're that popular now," Clarke says.

Young does have one regret with the show: "Norman isn't around to ask him some questions," he says, quickly noting 1978 as the year "old Norman" died.

Young talks as though he and Rockwell were fishing buddies.

"Norman Rockwell's history with the Boy Scouts dates back to 1916," he says, before pulling out another Rockwell factoid: Rockwell created art for Boy Scouts calendars for 52 years, starting in 1924. "That was a fantastic choice. You name Rockwell, and it's almost synonymous with Boy Scouts."

Clarke says Young's works have had a significant local impact. "Any Boy Scout that looks at Ross' paintings has an urge to participate," he adds, singling out his camping scenes and sport dog images. "It catches a young man's imagination and makes him more apt to join scouting."