Norman Rockwell’s 'The Dugout' joins Art Institute of Chicago collection

CHICAGO - Just in time for spring training, the Art Institute of Chicago has unveiled an iconic artwork that has special meaning for Cubs fans.

What we know:

It’s a Norman Rockwell painting called "The Dugout," and it is being donated to the museum by former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner and his wife, Diana. 

"We’ve enjoyed the painting for a very long time just in our home," Diana Rauner said. "But it’s really a painting for the community. So we wanted to share it with the Chicago community."

A pair of art institute employees, fittingly wearing Cubs caps, wheeled in one of the most famous paintings in baseball history and carefully placed it on a gallery wall Tuesday morning. 

It’s the first Norman Rockwell painting in the art institute’s massive collection and one that has special meaning to Cubs fans everywhere. 

"This is a really big deal for the art institute. It is so exciting for the museum," curator Sarah Kelly Oehler said. "We are located in the heart of Chicago. So to be able to celebrate the Chicago Cubs in this way is certainly the museum’s dream."

"The Dugout" was painted by Rockwell in 1948 for the cover of The Saturday Evening Post. It was purchased by the Rauners in 2009 for a price of $700,000. 

"It’s a very emotional gift for me because it’s my favorite painting," the former governor said. "I was always a Rockwell fan and a massive Cubs fan."

Rockwell based the painting on a series of photographs taken after the Cubs lost a doubleheader at Braves Field in May 1948. Rockwell was among the fans in attendance. 

"And so Rockwell decided to do a cover focused on the dejected Cubs in the dugout," Oehler said. "Contrasted with the gleeful fans cheering in the background."

Rockwell posed four Cubs sitting in the dugout, including manager Charlie Grimm, and instructed them to look dejected. Then he recruited some Braves fans to jeer the players above the dugout. 

"And then he asked the Braves batboy to put on the uniform of the Cubs team and pose as the Cubs batboy," Oehler said. "And he paid him $5 to do that."

The painting’s new home is in Gallery 263, featuring the Arts of the Americas. It’s been added to a murderer’s row of famous works, including Edward Hopper’s "Nighthawks," Grant Wood’s "American Gothic" and paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe and Diego Rivera. 

"You’re surrounded by one of the greatest collections of American art anywhere. And a collection of icons," Art Institute President James Rondeau said.

The workers who wheeled the painting in and hung it on the gallery wall say it’s a touchstone to them as well. 

"My grandparents took me to Cubs games when I was five years old, and I’ve been a fan ever since," Art Institute specialist Tim Roby said.

Rauner said he grew up following the Cubs and remembers how they broke his heart in 1969. That year, the Cubs led the division most of the season before collapsing to the surging Mets.

So, the gloomy emotions portrayed in the Rockwell work hit home. 

"I can look at that sadness and think about the emotions of what they’ve overcome over the years. And the trials and tribulations and the victories, and it’s just a great thing. It’s an emotional connection," Rauner said.

Will the donation of the painting spur the Cubs to greatness in 2026? "Hope springs eternal," Rauner said with a laugh.