STOCKBRIDGE, M.A. -- "It was so long and we worked wicked hard on it," said Sullivan Elementary School student Madison Marceau.

Her hard work has paid off. She and her classmates helped to give Norman Rockwell, an artist who's been painted with a lot of titles, a new one, Official Artist of the Commonwealth.

"Each step of the way I would say, it might happen, it might not, we won't know , we'll see what happens. And I think there was still some disbelief, but they're obviously very excited, very pleased with themselves," said Sullivan Elementary School teacher Anna Saldo-Burke.

It started as a class project over a year ago, drafting a proposal to get some official recognition for one of the Berkshires most famous residents.

"Many of the paintings from his later life that are so important to us now, such as the civil rights paintings and his paintings about space travel, were painted when he was in Stockbridge," said Norman Rockwell Museum marketing director Kimberly Rawson.
There's one Rockwell painting that you won't see hanging in the museum. It's been missing in action for years. But although the picture may be gone, the person painted in it is still hanging around.

"He picked me out of the lineup to be a model for him as a boy astronaut when man landed on the moon in 1969. So, I'll never forget it. He paid me $40," said State Representative Smitty Pignatelli.

That day may have had a price tag, but many of Rockwell's paintings are priceless.

"If you go to the museum today, the pictures that he drew thirty, forty, or fifty years ago are as poignant today as they were back then," said Pignatelli.

"He exemplifies the American spirit and was a champion of many causes," said Rawson.

A recent champion, thanks of course, to some surprised children.

"It was really surprising because we didn't think it would go this far," said Sullivan Elementary School student Mayan Zungy.

Showing that anything is possible with a little imagination.