Noel Rockmore
Encyclopedia
Noel Rockmore was born Noel Montgomery Davis to mother Gladys Rockmore Davis
and father Floyd Davis
in New York City
. Rockmore was an American painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. He claims to have produced over fifteen thousand works of art in his lifetime. He is known for his portraits, his early rise to fame, his Preservation Hall
portraits, and for changing his name at the height of his popularity in New York City.
Rockmore demonstrated uncanny talent in both art and music in his early years, leading many to label him a prodigy. He painted in a realistic and old masters style throughout his childhood and adolescence. He experimented with different artistic theories, techniques and ideas as a rising star in the New York
art world of the 1950s.
As the abstract expressionist movement gained momentum throughout the world, Rockmore left New York City and went to New Orleans, where he changed his name from Noel Davis to Noel Rockmore. He spent the next twenty years commuting between New Orleans and New York City while various dealers tried unsuccessfully to manage him and his often volatile career.
, the son of a painter, Gladys Rockmore Davis
, considered the ten year wonder of United States Art. His father, Floyd Davis
was recognized in 1943 by Life Magazine
as the number one illustrator of that time period. Noel’s younger sister Deborah Davis was born in 1930 and demonstrated considerable artistic talent as well.
The family moved in a social milieu which included luminaries in all the arts such as Ernest Hemingway
, Dr. Thomas Mann
, George Gershwin
, Leonard Bernstein
, and the puppeteer Bil Baird
. Noel was fascinated by the violin and began lessons at the age of five. He also learned piano and guitar with little effort. In 1935 both children contracted polio and Noel turned to painting as an artistic outlet. By the age of eleven he has begun to produce serious artistic works.
Noel had difficulty accepting the discipline in traditional schools and at Juliard where he worked briefly trying to master the violin skills he had demonstrated as a child musical prodigy.
In the early 1940s while his parents covered World War II as art correspondents for Life magazine, Noel and his sister Deborah attended the progressive Putney School in Vermont. Noel graduated in 1947 where he was known as a talented, but difficult student. He also attended the Art Student League of New York
with Julian Levi.
became his first major patron. He was encouraged by Henry Francis Taylor
, director at the Metropolitan Museum as well as Raphael Soyer
, John Koch
, and Yasuo Kuniyoshi
. His first studio was in the Cooper Union Complex in New York City
where he painted the street people of the Bowery. It was here Rockmore developed the style of depicting the world around him as a voyeur without social comment.
He painted animals from The Museum of Natural History and in 1950 acquired access to the backstage of the Ringling Brothers Circus. Coney Island
, Fire Island and Central Park
all provided stimulus and inspiration for his drawings and paintings. He did early works in the “Old Masters Style” that were favorably reviewed by Stewart Preston of the New York Times. Xavier Gonzalez
, Jack Levine
, and Fletcher Martin all encouraged Noel Davis to ignore the art fads of the time, including abstract expressionism, and persevere in his own unique direction.
. On their Honeymoon in Valles, Mexico his car hit a cow and was demolished as they argued. The newlyweds were uninjured, although the bride was upset when Noel insisted upon sketching the dying animal. Upon the couples return to New York they settled into the typical life of a young married couple, living in the Des Artistes artists’ complex. During this period from 1951 to 1957 there were three children born of this marriage.
Noel began showing his works at the Harry Salpeter Gallery and received awards and recognitions that according to Des Artiste fellow resident Stuart Davis
put the Salpeter Gallery on the map. He did two Life Magazine
commissions and was invited to join the National Academy of Design
. He was in group exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum
, Whitney Museum
, Museum of Modern Art
, and The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He won the Hallgarten Prize, the Tiffany Fellowship
(twice: 1956 & 1963), and The Wallace Truman Prize.
In 1958 Joseph Hirshhorn
purchased an additional eight Noel Davis paintings bringing his total to 16 for the Hirshhorn Museum. He has a one man show at the Salpeter Gallery in New York
and the The Butler Institute of American Art
in Ohio
. Later that year he moved to Brooklyn Heights
as his marriage dissolved as well as his relationship with Harry Salpeter. Upon leaving his wife and small children, he moved to Coney Island
and then Xavier Gonzalez
arranged for him to obtain a studio in the house of New Orleans painter Paul Ninas where according to Davis, he could "dwell in creative obscurity”.
(possibly a Jackson Pollack).
Once in New Orleans he observed that he need only to record what actually existed to convey the moods he wished to express in his art. He met E. Lorenz Borenstein
, gallery owner, Pre-Columbian artifact dealer, Preservation Hall
co-founder, and real-estate entrepreneur. He also met Bill Russell, composer, jazz historian, and New Orleans merchant and they began a lifelong friendship that would be punctuated by Rockmore's depiction of Bill in numerous paintings and watercolors throughout his life. While in New Orleans, Rockmore found a new list of patrons that truly admired his work including Shirley Marvin and the Faubles who would become his patrons for life.
Rockmore spent 1959-1960 painting New Orleans, specifically the French Quarter
and the black residents of the city as they were. Paul Ninas, Rockmore’s landlord writes a letter to Salpeter in New York
reporting that Rockmore is cavorting with young female companions, wearing western boots and tight jeans, using Castor oil in his hair and drinking for days on end.
and his arrangement with Harry Salpeter was slowly dissolved. In 1961 he began to exhibit his work with Greer Gallery, which offered him greater exposure. While in New York
, Rockmore, recently single, paints and pursues many relationships with young, well endowed beauties, which became a trademark of both his paintings and his public persona.
had found a young couple, Sandra and Allan Jaffe
, who had turned Preservation Hall
into a going concern featuring old jazz musicians. Borenstein
commissioned Rockmore to document all of these musicians as fast as he can. Rockmore responded with 300 oil portraits and over 500 small acrylics in less than two years. The portraits included the following jazz musicians: Billie & DeDe Pierce, George Lewis
, Odetta
, Dizzy Gillespie
, Jim Robinson
, Cie Frazier
, Louis Nelson
, Punch Miller
, Oscar Chicken Henry, Kid Thomas Valentine
, Joe Robichaux
, Narvin Kimball
, Danny Barker
, Alcide Pavageau
, Kid Sheik Cola, Percy Humphrey
, Willie Humphrey
, and Emma Barrett (Sweet Emma the Bell Gal) to name a few.
Rockmore worked with a framer, Bruce Brice, whom he mentored and encouraged on his career path, and who eventually became a respected American folk artist. Rockmore, Borenstein
and Bill Russell collaborate on a book, Preservation Hall
Portraits, which featured Rockmore’s works and was published in 1968. After 1965, much to Borenstein's
disappointment, Rockmore chose to do new series including shipyards and construction sites In New Orleans. Borenstein
had experienced much success with selling Rockmore’s jazz pieces and wished him to continue the winning formula.
In 1965, another relationship was formed with Jon and Gypsy Lou Webb publishers of “The Outsider”
featuring Charles Bukowski
. Their company, Lou-Jon Press published Crucifix in a Death Hand" featuring Bukowski’s
poetry and Rockmore’s art.
In 1963 Rockmore creatds a series of works based on his travels in Mexico
, and in 1965, he did the same concerning his travels to Morocco
.
In 1964 he won a Ford Foundation
Award that resulted in a show at the Swopes Art Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana
where he was artist-in-residence.
and Gladys Rockmore Davis
. During this time, Rockmore was also involved in scandals with several underage women; one such scandal in 1966 landed Rockmore in court in NYC
on charges of which he is eventually acquitted. Another incident involved a 16-year-old New Orleans girl Rockmore nicknamed Saki and of whom he paineds a full nude portrait that was discovered in Borenstein’s
Gallery by the girl's father. Saki and Rockmore’s relationship would continue in secret for nearly a year before she decided to break it off.
In late 1966 Rockmore’s father Floyd Davis
died; shortly thereafter in early 1967, his mother Gladys Rockmore Davis
passed away as well. Rockmore retreated to San Francisco to be with his sister Deborah, painting San Francisco and Haight-Ashbury as well as Eldredge Cleaver, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Allen Ginsburg.
In 1967, Luba and Victor Potamkin, a Cadillac dealer from New York
, and Sergio Franchi
, world famous tenor, decided that they would manage Rockmore. They arranged for his biggest show ever, set to take place in New York City
in November 1967 at Greer Gallery. The big opening was completely shut down by an anti-war riot at the New York Hilton where Dean Rusk
was to speak.
In early 1968, Potamkin and Franchi
sent Rockmore to Israel
to produce a series for his next big show. The works captured much of the tension and anguish in Israel
at the time, and a show is held at the Crane Korchin Gallery in PA
in May. Rockmore took up with a young girl, Robin Levine, whom he married, but he divorced her by the end of the year.
Rockmore also painted a portrait of the writer Henry Miller
for a Lou-Jon press book which was rejected when the Borenstein
negotiation with Lou-Jon goes bad. In early 1969 Rockmore parted ways with Potamkin and Franchi
and returned to San Francisco to visit his sister and paint a new series.
, who got him a commission from George Wein
to create posters for sale to commemorate the very first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
(Jazz Fest). Rockmore was also included by Wein on the inaugural Jazz Fest committee and commissioned to do a watercolor series of the event.
The first two New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festivals in 1970 and 1971 were held in Louis Armstrong Park
, then known as Beauregard Square, in the area of the park known to be the historic Congo Square
and the adjoining New Orleans Municipal Auditorium. Artist Noel Rockmore and Bruce Brice did posters for the first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festivals in 1970.
At that time, Rockmore began a relationship with folk artist Sister Gertrude Morgan and painted and worked with her throughout 1970. He embraced and painted many famous characters from the French quarter
, including Mike Stark and his Free Head Clinic, Ruthie the Duck Girl, the jazz musicians Bill Russell and Gypsy Lou, and his new girlfriend Riva Segall.
In 1971, he was commissioned by Time Magazine to do a cover portrait of then Governor Jimmy Carter
, which was rejected as “too realistic” for Time. He was also commissioned by Time to do a portrait of Arial Sharon. In 1971, Rockmore did a Civil War series and a Victorian Scrapbook series
where he transported himself back in time in order to paint periods he had researched.
In 1972, Wein commissioned Rockmore to go to Paris
and Venice
with girlfriend Riva in order to create a series of works for Wein’s personal collection. Rockmore and Riva parted ways at the conclusion of the trip and after a brief stay in New York, Rockmore returned to New Orleans, where he took up with Mickey Cahn for a year. By then, Rockmore was working with Bryant Galleries in New Orleans, having permanently split with Borenstein.
and starts on a series of large murals throughout the city. McGlade’s bar and Café des Artistes becomes his hangouts and places where he displays his art. In late 1974, the Lakeview Center for the Arts
in Peoria, IL puts on the retrospective “The World of Noel Rockmore” with a black and white brochure of major works Rockmore could procure for the show. In 1976 Rockmore has his last New York City
show at the Forum Gallery. He takes up with a young Andrea Lannin and reunites with one daughter and his son. In 1977 Rockmore sells his West 67th apartment in New York
and leaves the city for the last time.
& Leon Spinks
Fight Print of 1978 from the Superdome
.
He does a Jonestown Triangle painting which depicts Jim Jones and the Jonestown suicides
. He is commissioned by George Wein
to do an “Homage to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
”, and also begins a five year intimate relationship with Rita Posselt.
By 1981 he has split with Bryant Galleries and is now represented by the Sandra Zahn Oreck Gallery and has three very successful shows during the next three years that include his “Mardi Gras Backstage series
” from the Blaine Kern warehouses. Sandra Zahn Oreck closes the gallery in 1983 and Rockmore is represented by Bryant Galleries once again.
Bryant Galleries sends Noel and Rita to document Haiti
, where he captures the Haitian culture, particularly the Haitian Vodou aspect. By the end of 1983 Noel and Rita have separated and in 1984 Rockmore gets a puppy that he names Remby who will be with him until right before his death in 1995. He begins work on fantastic vodou pieces, sculptures, and three-dimensional collages.
In late 1984 takes up with a local entrepreneur, William May, originally from LaGrange, GA who will attempt to manage Rockmore back to New York
for a big show. William May sequesters Rockmore away in a house in Mill Valley, CA and supplies him with canvas’, paints, materials, and money to live on. May is unable to procure the New York
show and has to settle for the Chattahoochee Valley Art Association of LaGrange, GA.
Rockmore, now 56, returns to New Orleans and begins a relationship with his final significant girlfriend, Mary May Impastato, an eighteen year old girl from the French Quarter
. One of his painting from the Mill Valley series is purchased by Jimmy Buffett
who attributes his song “Bring Back the Magic”, which reached #24 on the charts, to Rockmore’s painting that he purchased. By late 1985 Noel is represented by the Posselt-Baker gallery of New Orleans (Rita Posselt is his former girlfriend).
In 1986-1987, Rockmore is frustrated by his lack of recognition and funds, his drinking escalates and his relationship with Mary May starts to deteriorate. Nevertheless, his work output continues with the creation of several new series including the Ceasarian series, French Quarter
pastels, and a new Grid series inspired by the football betting cards. He attends Alcoholics Anonymous
and works hard to reconcile his relationship with Mary May, but by the end of 1987 she has gone and Rockmore is once again alone and without a gallery.
, his favorite watering hole in the French Quarter
. Dr. Hava puts Rockmore on Zoloft in order that he may regain his focus and control his behavior. It seems to work and Rockmore begins working out at the YMCA
, his new found motivation allowed him to move forward and produce an entirely new “Ancient Egypt
ian” series in 1990. In 1991, he has a well received Egyptian
show at Bryant Galleries.
In 1991 his long time patron Shirley Marvin had the professional documentary “Rockmore” produced in New Orleans, featuring Rockmore and narrated by his daughter. In 1992 he begins work on an “immigration series” featuring Ellis Island
but is hospitalized that summer with an intestinal disorder. While hospitalized he undergoes detoxification from alcohol and is able to remain sober for a month and half after being released. He completes the “immigration series” and has his final exhibition at Bryant Galleries at the age of 64.
In 1993 he begins a dramatic series of huge works and collages that detail his march towards death. By late 1994 he is quite ill and creates his “final” self portrait. He refuses to go to the hospital despite attempts by his friends to intervene. He chooses instead to go to the home of his friend Dr. Hava, who he depicts as Dr. Jack Kevorkian in one of his final works.
On Friday February 17, 1995 an open house is scheduled at Dr. Hava’s but does not occur. Rockmore is put in a cab and the cabbie is told by the doctor that Rockmore is a street person to be dropped off at St. Jude Medical Center in Kenner, LA. According to the admitting nurse in a letter to Rockmore’s sister, as Rockmore is put on the gurney to be admitted to the hospital he hears that he is thought to be a street person, and he raises himself up and says “I am not a street person, I am a great artist.” Noel Rockmore lost consciousness after that and died, two days later, on February 19, 1995 at the age 66. His body was donated to medical science.
sponsored by Shirley Marvin, Preservation Hall
, and NOMA
. The show “Noel Rockmore: Fantasies and Realities” is presented by curator Gail Fiegenbaum and includes a brochure and panel discussion with George Wein
, Shirley Marvin, and Rita Posselt.
In November 2006, one year after Hurricane Katrina
, Rich and Tee Marvin, Shirley’s son and daughter-in-law, discover over 1400 Rockmore works in Shirley Marvin’s storage facility in New Orleans. They also find 35 years worth of correspondence, every Rockmore brochure and news article, as well as a documentary film all related to the life of Noel Rockmore.
Gladys Rockmore Davis
Gladys Rockmore Davis was an American artist who succeeded in both commercial and fine arts, and gave up a career in advertising art to devote herself to creative painting. Her work in pastels ranks with her oils, and her chief subjects are children, nudes and still lifes. She also painted ballet...
and father Floyd Davis
Floyd MacMillan Davis
Floyd MacMillan Davis was an American painter and illustrator known for his work in advertising and illustration; Walter and Roger Reed described him as "someone who could capture the rich, beautiful people of the 1920s: dashing, mustachioed men; the cool, svelte women...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Rockmore was an American painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. He claims to have produced over fifteen thousand works of art in his lifetime. He is known for his portraits, his early rise to fame, his Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall is a noted jazz performance hall located at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosts nightly concerts featuring a rotating roster of bands. The bands of Preservation Hall typically perform jazz in the New Orleans style.Despite the fame of the...
portraits, and for changing his name at the height of his popularity in New York City.
Rockmore demonstrated uncanny talent in both art and music in his early years, leading many to label him a prodigy. He painted in a realistic and old masters style throughout his childhood and adolescence. He experimented with different artistic theories, techniques and ideas as a rising star in the New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
art world of the 1950s.
As the abstract expressionist movement gained momentum throughout the world, Rockmore left New York City and went to New Orleans, where he changed his name from Noel Davis to Noel Rockmore. He spent the next twenty years commuting between New Orleans and New York City while various dealers tried unsuccessfully to manage him and his often volatile career.
1928-1947: Early Life
Noel Rockmore grew up in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the son of a painter, Gladys Rockmore Davis
Gladys Rockmore Davis
Gladys Rockmore Davis was an American artist who succeeded in both commercial and fine arts, and gave up a career in advertising art to devote herself to creative painting. Her work in pastels ranks with her oils, and her chief subjects are children, nudes and still lifes. She also painted ballet...
, considered the ten year wonder of United States Art. His father, Floyd Davis
Floyd MacMillan Davis
Floyd MacMillan Davis was an American painter and illustrator known for his work in advertising and illustration; Walter and Roger Reed described him as "someone who could capture the rich, beautiful people of the 1920s: dashing, mustachioed men; the cool, svelte women...
was recognized in 1943 by Life Magazine
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
as the number one illustrator of that time period. Noel’s younger sister Deborah Davis was born in 1930 and demonstrated considerable artistic talent as well.
The family moved in a social milieu which included luminaries in all the arts such as Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
, Dr. Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
, George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, and the puppeteer Bil Baird
Bil Baird
William Britton Baird , professional name Bil Baird, but often referred to as Bill Baird, was an American puppeteer of the mid- and late 20th century.One of his better known creations was Charlemane the lion...
. Noel was fascinated by the violin and began lessons at the age of five. He also learned piano and guitar with little effort. In 1935 both children contracted polio and Noel turned to painting as an artistic outlet. By the age of eleven he has begun to produce serious artistic works.
Noel had difficulty accepting the discipline in traditional schools and at Juliard where he worked briefly trying to master the violin skills he had demonstrated as a child musical prodigy.
In the early 1940s while his parents covered World War II as art correspondents for Life magazine, Noel and his sister Deborah attended the progressive Putney School in Vermont. Noel graduated in 1947 where he was known as a talented, but difficult student. He also attended the Art Student League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
with Julian Levi.
1948-1950: Career Beginnings
In 1948 when the artist was 19, Joseph HirshhornJoseph Hirshhorn
]Joseph Herman Hirshhorn was an entrepreneur, financier and art collector. Born in Mitau, Latvia, the twelfth of thirteen children, Hirshhorn emigrated to the United States with his widowed mother at the age of six....
became his first major patron. He was encouraged by Henry Francis Taylor
Francis Henry Taylor
Francis Henry Taylor was a distinguished American museum director and curator, heading the Metropolitan Museum of Art for fifteen years.He was born in Philadelphia, and started his career as a curator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art...
, director at the Metropolitan Museum as well as Raphael Soyer
Raphael Soyer
Raphael Soyer was a Russian-born American painter, draftsman, and printmaker. Soyer was referred to as an American scene painter...
, John Koch
John Koch
John Koch was an American painter, and an important figure in 20th century realist painting. His early work may be considered Impressionist...
, and Yasuo Kuniyoshi
Yasuo Kuniyoshi
was an American painter, photographer and printmaker born in Okayama, Japan.He migrated to America in 1906, a year later began studying at the Los Angeles School of Art and Design. In 1935 he was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship. He taught at the Art Students League of New York in New York City...
. His first studio was in the Cooper Union Complex in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where he painted the street people of the Bowery. It was here Rockmore developed the style of depicting the world around him as a voyeur without social comment.
He painted animals from The Museum of Natural History and in 1950 acquired access to the backstage of the Ringling Brothers Circus. Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
, Fire Island and Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
all provided stimulus and inspiration for his drawings and paintings. He did early works in the “Old Masters Style” that were favorably reviewed by Stewart Preston of the New York Times. Xavier Gonzalez
Xavier Gonzalez
Xavier Gonzalez was a Spanish American artist. He was born in Almeria, Spain. He lived in Argentina and Mexico for some time. In 1925, he immigrated to the United States....
, Jack Levine
Jack Levine
Jack Levine was an American Social Realist painter and printmaker best known for his satires on modern life, political corruption, and biblical narratives.-Biography:...
, and Fletcher Martin all encouraged Noel Davis to ignore the art fads of the time, including abstract expressionism, and persevere in his own unique direction.
1951-1958: Married Life and Career
On June 20, 1951 Noel Davis married Elizabeth Hunter in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. On their Honeymoon in Valles, Mexico his car hit a cow and was demolished as they argued. The newlyweds were uninjured, although the bride was upset when Noel insisted upon sketching the dying animal. Upon the couples return to New York they settled into the typical life of a young married couple, living in the Des Artistes artists’ complex. During this period from 1951 to 1957 there were three children born of this marriage.
Noel began showing his works at the Harry Salpeter Gallery and received awards and recognitions that according to Des Artiste fellow resident Stuart Davis
Stuart Davis (painter)
Stuart Davis , was an early American modernist painter. He was well known for his jazz influenced, proto pop art paintings of the 1940s and 1950s, bold, brash, and colorful as well as his ashcan pictures in the early years of the 20th century.-Biography:He was born in Philadelphia to Edward Wyatt...
put the Salpeter Gallery on the map. He did two Life Magazine
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
commissions and was invited to join the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
. He was in group exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, Whitney Museum
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
, Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, and The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He won the Hallgarten Prize, the Tiffany Fellowship
The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation
The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation was founded in 1918 by Louis Comfort Tiffany to operate his estate, Laurelton Hall, in Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island. It was designed to be a summer retreat for artists and craftspeople...
(twice: 1956 & 1963), and The Wallace Truman Prize.
In 1958 Joseph Hirshhorn
Joseph Hirshhorn
]Joseph Herman Hirshhorn was an entrepreneur, financier and art collector. Born in Mitau, Latvia, the twelfth of thirteen children, Hirshhorn emigrated to the United States with his widowed mother at the age of six....
purchased an additional eight Noel Davis paintings bringing his total to 16 for the Hirshhorn Museum. He has a one man show at the Salpeter Gallery in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and the The Butler Institute of American Art
Butler Institute of American Art
The Butler Institute of American Art, located on Wick Avenue in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, was the first museum dedicated exclusively to American art. Established by local industrialist and philanthropist Joseph G. Butler, Jr., the museum has been operating pro bono since 1919...
in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. Later that year he moved to Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
Brooklyn Heights is a culturally diverse neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Originally referred to as 'Brooklyn Village', it has been a prominent area of Brooklyn since 1834. As of 2000, Brooklyn Heights sustained a population of 22,594 people. The neighborhood is part of...
as his marriage dissolved as well as his relationship with Harry Salpeter. Upon leaving his wife and small children, he moved to Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
and then Xavier Gonzalez
Xavier Gonzalez
Xavier Gonzalez was a Spanish American artist. He was born in Almeria, Spain. He lived in Argentina and Mexico for some time. In 1925, he immigrated to the United States....
arranged for him to obtain a studio in the house of New Orleans painter Paul Ninas where according to Davis, he could "dwell in creative obscurity”.
1959-1960: Journey to New Orleans
While in New Orleans, Noel Davis decided to legally change his name to Noel Rockmore, adopting his mother’s maiden name. This caused consternation from his patrons, his dealer, and most notably his mother. It was unheard of for a major recognized artist in so many museums to change his name at such a point in his career. He would later go to the Hirshhorn Museum and get caught changing his name from Davis to Rockmore on one of his works. At this point he was banned from the museum. He was also accused of defacing a major work at a museum in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(possibly a Jackson Pollack).
Once in New Orleans he observed that he need only to record what actually existed to convey the moods he wished to express in his art. He met E. Lorenz Borenstein
Larry Borenstein
Larry Borenstein was an American property owner and art dealer.He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Russian parents and when 13 years old he went to Chicago to join the World's Fair...
, gallery owner, Pre-Columbian artifact dealer, Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall is a noted jazz performance hall located at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosts nightly concerts featuring a rotating roster of bands. The bands of Preservation Hall typically perform jazz in the New Orleans style.Despite the fame of the...
co-founder, and real-estate entrepreneur. He also met Bill Russell, composer, jazz historian, and New Orleans merchant and they began a lifelong friendship that would be punctuated by Rockmore's depiction of Bill in numerous paintings and watercolors throughout his life. While in New Orleans, Rockmore found a new list of patrons that truly admired his work including Shirley Marvin and the Faubles who would become his patrons for life.
Rockmore spent 1959-1960 painting New Orleans, specifically the French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
and the black residents of the city as they were. Paul Ninas, Rockmore’s landlord writes a letter to Salpeter in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
reporting that Rockmore is cavorting with young female companions, wearing western boots and tight jeans, using Castor oil in his hair and drinking for days on end.
1961-1963: Return to New York
Rockmore returned to New YorkNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and his arrangement with Harry Salpeter was slowly dissolved. In 1961 he began to exhibit his work with Greer Gallery, which offered him greater exposure. While in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Rockmore, recently single, paints and pursues many relationships with young, well endowed beauties, which became a trademark of both his paintings and his public persona.
1963-1965: New Orleans - Preservation Hall Years
Upon Rockmore’s return to New Orleans, Larry BorensteinLarry Borenstein
Larry Borenstein was an American property owner and art dealer.He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Russian parents and when 13 years old he went to Chicago to join the World's Fair...
had found a young couple, Sandra and Allan Jaffe
Allan Jaffe
Allan Phillip Jaffe was an American jazz tubist and the entrepreneur who developed Preservation Hall into a New Orleans jazz tradition....
, who had turned Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall is a noted jazz performance hall located at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosts nightly concerts featuring a rotating roster of bands. The bands of Preservation Hall typically perform jazz in the New Orleans style.Despite the fame of the...
into a going concern featuring old jazz musicians. Borenstein
Larry Borenstein
Larry Borenstein was an American property owner and art dealer.He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Russian parents and when 13 years old he went to Chicago to join the World's Fair...
commissioned Rockmore to document all of these musicians as fast as he can. Rockmore responded with 300 oil portraits and over 500 small acrylics in less than two years. The portraits included the following jazz musicians: Billie & DeDe Pierce, George Lewis
George Lewis (clarinetist)
George Lewis was an American jazz clarinetist who achieved his greatest fame and influence in the later decades of his life.-Ancestry:...
, Odetta
Odetta
Odetta Holmes, known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, songwriter, and a human rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals...
, Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Jim Robinson
Jim Robinson (trombonist)
Jim Robinson, also known as Big Jim Robinson was an American jazz musician, based in New Orleans, renowned for his deep, wide-toned, robust "tailgate" style of trombone playing, which enabled him to achieve a wide swoop between two notes as he moved the slide—while continually buzzing air...
, Cie Frazier
Cie Frazier
Josiah "Cie" Frazier was an American jazz drummer.Frazier studied drums under several New Orleans jazz musicians, including Louis Cottrell, Sr., Red Happy Bolton, and Face-O Woods. He joined the Golden Rule Band with cousin Lawrence Marrero in 1921, and played in Marrero's Young Tuxedo Orchestra...
, Louis Nelson
Louis Nelson
Louis Nelson was a trombonist most associated with the jazz originating in New Orleans near the turn of the twentieth century, sometimes referred to as Dixieland music....
, Punch Miller
Punch Miller
Ernest Miller aka Punch Miller or Kid Punch Miller , was a Dixieland jazz trumpeter.Miller was born in Raceland, Louisiana. He was known in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was based from 1919 to 1927 when he moved Chicago...
, Oscar Chicken Henry, Kid Thomas Valentine
Kid Thomas Valentine
Thomas Valentine, commonly known as Kid Thomas was a jazz trumpeter and bandleader.Kid Thomas was born in Reserve, Louisiana and came to New Orleans in his youth. He gained a reputation as a hot trumpet man in the early 1920s. Starting in 1926 he led his own band, for decades based in the New...
, Joe Robichaux
Joe Robichaux
Joe Robichaux was an American jazz pianist. He was the nephew of John Robichaux....
, Narvin Kimball
Narvin Kimball
Narvin Kimball was a jazz musician who played banjo and string bass and was also known for his fine singing voice....
, Danny Barker
Danny Barker
Danny Barker , born Daniel Moses Barker, was a jazz banjoist, singer, guitarist, songwriter, ukelele player and author from New Orleans, founder of the locally famous Fairview Baptist Church Marching Band...
, Alcide Pavageau
Alcide Pavageau
Alcide "Slow Drag" Pavageau was an American jazz double-bassist.Pavageau started off his career as a guitarist, and sparked a dance craze in his early years which resulted in his "Slow Drag" nickname. He picked up bass in 1927, when he was 39 years old, and played with Buddy Petit, Herb Morand,...
, Kid Sheik Cola, Percy Humphrey
Percy Humphrey
Percy Gaston Humphrey was a jazz trumpet player and bandleader in New Orleans, Louisiana.In addition to his own jazz band, Percy Humphrey and His Crescent City Joymakers, for more than thirty years he was leader of the Eureka Brass Band. He also played in the band of the pianist Sweet Emma Barrett...
, Willie Humphrey
Willie Humphrey
Willie James Humphrey was a New Orleans jazz clarinetist. Willie Humphrey was born in a musical family, the son of prominent local clarinetist and music teacher Willie Eli Humphrey; his brothers Earl Humphrey and Percy Humphrey also became well known professional musicians.After establishing...
, and Emma Barrett (Sweet Emma the Bell Gal) to name a few.
Rockmore worked with a framer, Bruce Brice, whom he mentored and encouraged on his career path, and who eventually became a respected American folk artist. Rockmore, Borenstein
Larry Borenstein
Larry Borenstein was an American property owner and art dealer.He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Russian parents and when 13 years old he went to Chicago to join the World's Fair...
and Bill Russell collaborate on a book, Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall is a noted jazz performance hall located at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosts nightly concerts featuring a rotating roster of bands. The bands of Preservation Hall typically perform jazz in the New Orleans style.Despite the fame of the...
Portraits, which featured Rockmore’s works and was published in 1968. After 1965, much to Borenstein's
Larry Borenstein
Larry Borenstein was an American property owner and art dealer.He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Russian parents and when 13 years old he went to Chicago to join the World's Fair...
disappointment, Rockmore chose to do new series including shipyards and construction sites In New Orleans. Borenstein
Larry Borenstein
Larry Borenstein was an American property owner and art dealer.He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Russian parents and when 13 years old he went to Chicago to join the World's Fair...
had experienced much success with selling Rockmore’s jazz pieces and wished him to continue the winning formula.
In 1965, another relationship was formed with Jon and Gypsy Lou Webb publishers of “The Outsider”
The Outsider (magazine)
The Outsider was a 1960s literary magazine published by Loujon Press. "The Outsider" brought the work of Charles Bukowski to national attention, in addition to publishing work by such notable writers as Jack Kerouac and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, along with artwork by Noel Rockmore.Loujon Press was...
featuring Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...
. Their company, Lou-Jon Press published Crucifix in a Death Hand" featuring Bukowski’s
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...
poetry and Rockmore’s art.
In 1963 Rockmore creatds a series of works based on his travels in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and in 1965, he did the same concerning his travels to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
.
In 1964 he won a Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
Award that resulted in a show at the Swopes Art Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
where he was artist-in-residence.
1965-1969: New York, New Orleans, & San Francisco
In 1965-1966, Rockmore decided to do a series of family portraits of his aging parents, FloydFloyd MacMillan Davis
Floyd MacMillan Davis was an American painter and illustrator known for his work in advertising and illustration; Walter and Roger Reed described him as "someone who could capture the rich, beautiful people of the 1920s: dashing, mustachioed men; the cool, svelte women...
and Gladys Rockmore Davis
Gladys Rockmore Davis
Gladys Rockmore Davis was an American artist who succeeded in both commercial and fine arts, and gave up a career in advertising art to devote herself to creative painting. Her work in pastels ranks with her oils, and her chief subjects are children, nudes and still lifes. She also painted ballet...
. During this time, Rockmore was also involved in scandals with several underage women; one such scandal in 1966 landed Rockmore in court in NYC
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on charges of which he is eventually acquitted. Another incident involved a 16-year-old New Orleans girl Rockmore nicknamed Saki and of whom he paineds a full nude portrait that was discovered in Borenstein’s
Larry Borenstein
Larry Borenstein was an American property owner and art dealer.He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Russian parents and when 13 years old he went to Chicago to join the World's Fair...
Gallery by the girl's father. Saki and Rockmore’s relationship would continue in secret for nearly a year before she decided to break it off.
In late 1966 Rockmore’s father Floyd Davis
Floyd MacMillan Davis
Floyd MacMillan Davis was an American painter and illustrator known for his work in advertising and illustration; Walter and Roger Reed described him as "someone who could capture the rich, beautiful people of the 1920s: dashing, mustachioed men; the cool, svelte women...
died; shortly thereafter in early 1967, his mother Gladys Rockmore Davis
Gladys Rockmore Davis
Gladys Rockmore Davis was an American artist who succeeded in both commercial and fine arts, and gave up a career in advertising art to devote herself to creative painting. Her work in pastels ranks with her oils, and her chief subjects are children, nudes and still lifes. She also painted ballet...
passed away as well. Rockmore retreated to San Francisco to be with his sister Deborah, painting San Francisco and Haight-Ashbury as well as Eldredge Cleaver, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Allen Ginsburg.
In 1967, Luba and Victor Potamkin, a Cadillac dealer from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and Sergio Franchi
Sergio Franchi
Sergio Franchi was an Italian tenor.Franchi was born in Cremona, Italy. His father wanted him to become an electrical engineer, so he studied both music and engineering simultaneously. The family moved to South Africa in 1952, where Sergio worked part-time as a draftsman, while continuing to study...
, world famous tenor, decided that they would manage Rockmore. They arranged for his biggest show ever, set to take place in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in November 1967 at Greer Gallery. The big opening was completely shut down by an anti-war riot at the New York Hilton where Dean Rusk
Dean Rusk
David Dean Rusk was the United States Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Rusk is the second-longest serving U.S...
was to speak.
In early 1968, Potamkin and Franchi
Sergio Franchi
Sergio Franchi was an Italian tenor.Franchi was born in Cremona, Italy. His father wanted him to become an electrical engineer, so he studied both music and engineering simultaneously. The family moved to South Africa in 1952, where Sergio worked part-time as a draftsman, while continuing to study...
sent Rockmore to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
to produce a series for his next big show. The works captured much of the tension and anguish in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
at the time, and a show is held at the Crane Korchin Gallery in PA
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in May. Rockmore took up with a young girl, Robin Levine, whom he married, but he divorced her by the end of the year.
Rockmore also painted a portrait of the writer Henry Miller
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller was an American novelist and painter. He was known for breaking with existing literary forms and developing a new sort of 'novel' that is a mixture of novel, autobiography, social criticism, philosophical reflection, surrealist free association, and mysticism, one that is...
for a Lou-Jon press book which was rejected when the Borenstein
Larry Borenstein
Larry Borenstein was an American property owner and art dealer.He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Russian parents and when 13 years old he went to Chicago to join the World's Fair...
negotiation with Lou-Jon goes bad. In early 1969 Rockmore parted ways with Potamkin and Franchi
Sergio Franchi
Sergio Franchi was an Italian tenor.Franchi was born in Cremona, Italy. His father wanted him to become an electrical engineer, so he studied both music and engineering simultaneously. The family moved to South Africa in 1952, where Sergio worked part-time as a draftsman, while continuing to study...
and returned to San Francisco to visit his sister and paint a new series.
1969–1973: Return to New Orleans and Jazzfest
At the end of 1969, Rockmore returned to New Orleans and reunited with Larry BorensteinLarry Borenstein
Larry Borenstein was an American property owner and art dealer.He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Russian parents and when 13 years old he went to Chicago to join the World's Fair...
, who got him a commission from George Wein
George Wein
George Wein is an American jazz promoter and producer who has been called "the most famous jazz impresario" and "the most important non-player... in jazz history"...
to create posters for sale to commemorate the very first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, often known as Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana...
(Jazz Fest). Rockmore was also included by Wein on the inaugural Jazz Fest committee and commissioned to do a watercolor series of the event.
The first two New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festivals in 1970 and 1971 were held in Louis Armstrong Park
Louis Armstrong Park
Louis Armstrong Park is a park located in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, just across Rampart Street from the French Quarter. It was designed by New Orleans architect Robin Riley. The park contains the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium, the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the...
, then known as Beauregard Square, in the area of the park known to be the historic Congo Square
Congo Square
Congo Square is an open space within Louis Armstrong Park, which is located in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, just across Rampart Street north of the French Quarter. The Tremé neighborhood is famous for its history of African American music....
and the adjoining New Orleans Municipal Auditorium. Artist Noel Rockmore and Bruce Brice did posters for the first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festivals in 1970.
At that time, Rockmore began a relationship with folk artist Sister Gertrude Morgan and painted and worked with her throughout 1970. He embraced and painted many famous characters from the French quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
, including Mike Stark and his Free Head Clinic, Ruthie the Duck Girl, the jazz musicians Bill Russell and Gypsy Lou, and his new girlfriend Riva Segall.
In 1971, he was commissioned by Time Magazine to do a cover portrait of then Governor Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, which was rejected as “too realistic” for Time. He was also commissioned by Time to do a portrait of Arial Sharon. In 1971, Rockmore did a Civil War series and a Victorian Scrapbook series
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
where he transported himself back in time in order to paint periods he had researched.
In 1972, Wein commissioned Rockmore to go to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
with girlfriend Riva in order to create a series of works for Wein’s personal collection. Rockmore and Riva parted ways at the conclusion of the trip and after a brief stay in New York, Rockmore returned to New Orleans, where he took up with Mickey Cahn for a year. By then, Rockmore was working with Bryant Galleries in New Orleans, having permanently split with Borenstein.
1974-1977: Final Return to New York City
In 1974, Rockmore moves back to New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and starts on a series of large murals throughout the city. McGlade’s bar and Café des Artistes becomes his hangouts and places where he displays his art. In late 1974, the Lakeview Center for the Arts
Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences
The Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences is a public museum of science and culture located in Peoria, Illinois. It contains a planetarium....
in Peoria, IL puts on the retrospective “The World of Noel Rockmore” with a black and white brochure of major works Rockmore could procure for the show. In 1976 Rockmore has his last New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
show at the Forum Gallery. He takes up with a young Andrea Lannin and reunites with one daughter and his son. In 1977 Rockmore sells his West 67th apartment in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and leaves the city for the last time.
1977-1987: Final Return to New Orleans
In 1977, Rockmore returns to New Orleans with girlfriend Andrea Lannin, and two of his children, now young adults, come to stay with him as well. By the end of the year Lannin has moved on and Rockmore has re-engaged himself with Bryant Galleries. He begins a series of prints, etchings, and posters, including the famous Muhammad AliMuhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
& Leon Spinks
Leon Spinks
Leon Spinks is a former American boxer. He had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 knockout wins, and was the former World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association heavyweight champion of the world...
Fight Print of 1978 from the Superdome
Louisiana Superdome
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
.
He does a Jonestown Triangle painting which depicts Jim Jones and the Jonestown suicides
Jim Jones
James Warren "Jim" Jones was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 mass suicide of 909 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the killings of five other people at a nearby airstrip.Jones was born in Indiana and started the Temple in...
. He is commissioned by George Wein
George Wein
George Wein is an American jazz promoter and producer who has been called "the most famous jazz impresario" and "the most important non-player... in jazz history"...
to do an “Homage to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, often known as Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana...
”, and also begins a five year intimate relationship with Rita Posselt.
By 1981 he has split with Bryant Galleries and is now represented by the Sandra Zahn Oreck Gallery and has three very successful shows during the next three years that include his “Mardi Gras Backstage series
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
” from the Blaine Kern warehouses. Sandra Zahn Oreck closes the gallery in 1983 and Rockmore is represented by Bryant Galleries once again.
Bryant Galleries sends Noel and Rita to document Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, where he captures the Haitian culture, particularly the Haitian Vodou aspect. By the end of 1983 Noel and Rita have separated and in 1984 Rockmore gets a puppy that he names Remby who will be with him until right before his death in 1995. He begins work on fantastic vodou pieces, sculptures, and three-dimensional collages.
In late 1984 takes up with a local entrepreneur, William May, originally from LaGrange, GA who will attempt to manage Rockmore back to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
for a big show. William May sequesters Rockmore away in a house in Mill Valley, CA and supplies him with canvas’, paints, materials, and money to live on. May is unable to procure the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
show and has to settle for the Chattahoochee Valley Art Association of LaGrange, GA.
Rockmore, now 56, returns to New Orleans and begins a relationship with his final significant girlfriend, Mary May Impastato, an eighteen year old girl from the French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
. One of his painting from the Mill Valley series is purchased by Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
who attributes his song “Bring Back the Magic”, which reached #24 on the charts, to Rockmore’s painting that he purchased. By late 1985 Noel is represented by the Posselt-Baker gallery of New Orleans (Rita Posselt is his former girlfriend).
In 1986-1987, Rockmore is frustrated by his lack of recognition and funds, his drinking escalates and his relationship with Mary May starts to deteriorate. Nevertheless, his work output continues with the creation of several new series including the Ceasarian series, French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
pastels, and a new Grid series inspired by the football betting cards. He attends Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
and works hard to reconcile his relationship with Mary May, but by the end of 1987 she has gone and Rockmore is once again alone and without a gallery.
1988-1995: The Final Chapter
In 1988 Rockmore is in despair and it is reflected in his works. He signs a deal with Bryant Gallery in order to get a regular paycheck and is befriended by Dr. Hava, a Psychiatrist and drinking buddy from Johnny White'sJohnny White's
Johnny White's is a bar in New Orleans known for the fact that it remained open despite Hurricane Katrina....
, his favorite watering hole in the French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
. Dr. Hava puts Rockmore on Zoloft in order that he may regain his focus and control his behavior. It seems to work and Rockmore begins working out at the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, his new found motivation allowed him to move forward and produce an entirely new “Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian” series in 1990. In 1991, he has a well received Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
show at Bryant Galleries.
In 1991 his long time patron Shirley Marvin had the professional documentary “Rockmore” produced in New Orleans, featuring Rockmore and narrated by his daughter. In 1992 he begins work on an “immigration series” featuring Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
but is hospitalized that summer with an intestinal disorder. While hospitalized he undergoes detoxification from alcohol and is able to remain sober for a month and half after being released. He completes the “immigration series” and has his final exhibition at Bryant Galleries at the age of 64.
In 1993 he begins a dramatic series of huge works and collages that detail his march towards death. By late 1994 he is quite ill and creates his “final” self portrait. He refuses to go to the hospital despite attempts by his friends to intervene. He chooses instead to go to the home of his friend Dr. Hava, who he depicts as Dr. Jack Kevorkian in one of his final works.
On Friday February 17, 1995 an open house is scheduled at Dr. Hava’s but does not occur. Rockmore is put in a cab and the cabbie is told by the doctor that Rockmore is a street person to be dropped off at St. Jude Medical Center in Kenner, LA. According to the admitting nurse in a letter to Rockmore’s sister, as Rockmore is put on the gurney to be admitted to the hospital he hears that he is thought to be a street person, and he raises himself up and says “I am not a street person, I am a great artist.” Noel Rockmore lost consciousness after that and died, two days later, on February 19, 1995 at the age 66. His body was donated to medical science.
1998-2010: Postscript
In 1998 a retrospective is held at the New Orleans Museum of ArtNew Orleans Museum of Art
The New Orleans Museum of Art is the oldest fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans. It is situated within City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton Avenue and Esplanade Avenue, and near the terminus of the "Canal Street - City Park" streetcar line...
sponsored by Shirley Marvin, Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall is a noted jazz performance hall located at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosts nightly concerts featuring a rotating roster of bands. The bands of Preservation Hall typically perform jazz in the New Orleans style.Despite the fame of the...
, and NOMA
Noma
Noma may refer to:* NOMA * Noma * Noma * Noma, Florida, United States* NoMa, Washington, D.C., United States* Noma pony* Noma Prize, a group of Japanese literary awards* New Orleans Museum of Art...
. The show “Noel Rockmore: Fantasies and Realities” is presented by curator Gail Fiegenbaum and includes a brochure and panel discussion with George Wein
George Wein
George Wein is an American jazz promoter and producer who has been called "the most famous jazz impresario" and "the most important non-player... in jazz history"...
, Shirley Marvin, and Rita Posselt.
In November 2006, one year after Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, Rich and Tee Marvin, Shirley’s son and daughter-in-law, discover over 1400 Rockmore works in Shirley Marvin’s storage facility in New Orleans. They also find 35 years worth of correspondence, every Rockmore brochure and news article, as well as a documentary film all related to the life of Noel Rockmore.
External links
- The Noel Rockmore Project Homepage
- Bruce Brice's Home On The Web
- Bohemian New Orleans: The Story of the Outsider and Loujon Press
- NY Times Obituary for Victor Potamkin
- Mike Stark Speaks on Masks
- Info on Ruthie The Duck Lady
- Cafe des Artistes on the Web
- Bryant Galleries Online
- The Forum Gallery Online
- Andrea Lannin's Website
- Blaine Kern's Website
- LaGrange Art Museum Online