Norman Rockwell's 'The Land Of Enchantment' Returns Home

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — New Rochelle's very own masterpiece is back home at the New Rochelle Public Library after a brief vacation on loan at the Norman Rockwell Museum.

The oil painting known as "The Land of Enchantment" is once again on display high above the librarian's desk in the children's reading room where it has had a place of honor since the current library opened its doors in 1979.

The work of art was on loan to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts earlier this year for the special fall exhibition, "Real and Imagined: Fantastical Rockwell." The exhibit, which concluded at the end of October, was a hit with critics, but now it's time for the piece of New Rochelle history to make its triumphant homecoming.

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One of New Rochelle's most famous citizens, Norman Rockwell lived in the city for more than 25 years and was an early supporter of the library. In 1935, he donated the original painting for public display in the children’s room of the New Rochelle Public Library, then located on Main Street and Pintard Avenue, according to the library.