A tale of two storytellers: Norman Rockwell and Mark Twain are woven together into the fabric of American life.

• Position: American Storytellers: Norman Rockwell & Mark Twain - USA Yesterday

WHO can forget Norman Rockwell's illustration of Tom demonstrating the joys of fence-painting to the credulous Ben Rogers, the two boys staring intently at the artistry of it all? The images of Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn that Rockwell painted have been iconic for generations of youthful readers. In fact, Twain and Rockwell both were quintessentially. American storytellers, a fact made clear in an exhibition that unites their work with a wealth of artistic images and rare items that have been brought together for the first time.

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Organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Mass., and on view through Sept. 6 at The Mark Twain House & Museum, Hartford, Conn., "American Storytellers: Norman Rockwell & Mark Twain" gives "an idealized picture of American childhood," says Patti Philippon, chief curator of Mark Twain House, who has meshed the elements of exhibition into a creative whole.

"There are many links in their tricks and methods of storytelling, producing pictures and words carefully calculated to evoke emotion--both were masters at marketing their own public images. [These] men are woven into the fabric of American life."

The exhibition showcases 16 limited edition signed prints--including the beloved face-painting image--from Rockwell's personal collection. In 1935, George Macy, publisher of the Heritage Press and limited Editions Books, invited Rockwell to illustrate Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. "These were classics," Rockwell later wrote. "I read through the books, making notes of which scenes would make good pictures. Of course certain scenes--for instance, Tom whitewashing his Aunt Polly's fence--were required."

A significant element of the exhibit, "Innocents at Home," links Rockwell's and Twain's work by comparing the artist's...