Norman Rockwell's Duke

Magazine cover art that turned into a million-dollar sale.

- Meghan Saar

In 1973, John Wayne sat inside Norman Rockwell’s studio in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, so the artist could paint a portrait of the actor. The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City had commissioned the portrait, to celebrate the Duke’s induction into the Hall of Great Western Performers.

In the summer of 1976, Rockwell’s portrait of Wayne graced the cover of Country Gentleman magazine. Rockwell died two years later, followed a year later by the Duke. On September 15, this iconic painting set off an enthusiastic bidding war at Wyoming’s Jackson Hole Art Auction until the hammer fell at $1.3 million.