@normanrockwellmuseum: Beautiful detail in Amos Sewell's painting, titled, "Visiting Hours." See this painting on view in our current exhibition, “American Stories: Revolution to Rockwell.”   Amos Sewell was celebrated for his warm, humorous portrayals of everyday American life, bringing keen observation and gentle wit to scenes of family, community, and popular culture. In Visiting Hours, family members are at their loved one’s hospital bed, yet their attention is fixed entirely on a television set while the patient sits quietly ignored. Created during the early years of television’s rise as a dominant form of entertainment, the image offers a playful but pointed commentary on changing social habits and the power of screens to command attention. Baseball—often called America’s national pastime—occupied a similarly central place in mid-twentieth-century culture, as television brought games and other shared experiences into homes across the country. Sewell’s scene captures a moment when television was beginning to reshape how Americans spent their leisure time, a theme that continues to evolve, remaining strikingly relevant today.

Norman Rockwell Museum

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Monday 22 June 2026 14:13:15 GMT