Mystery of bench in iconic Norman Rockwell painting "solved"

SCHOHARIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- NEWS10 viewers may recall Anya Tucker’s story about Norman Rockwell model Mary Leonard Whalen celebrating the 70th anniversary of "The Young Lady With The Shiner". The painting was featured on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. After the story aired, NEWS10 began receiving emails from folks saying they knew where the bench in the picture could be found.

THE PRINCIPAL'S DOOR:

According to school officials and archivists, Rockwell borrowed the principal’s door from an elementary school in Cambridge, New York as a prop for the iconic painting. It’s now in part of a display created by teacher Steve Butz.

THE BENCH:

The whereabouts of the bench that Mary sat on as she posed on for the painting remained a mystery. That was until Dave Blanchard saw Anya's original story. “So, Anya, this is the Norman Rockwell bench. I saw it in your story," said Blanchard, who is the Superintendent for the Schoharie Central School District. The bench sits right outside his office. Blanchard showed Anya a name plate on the back of the bench. "So right here it says, 'Sincerely, Norman Rockwell' with his signature.”

SOLVING THE MYSTERY:

But why was it there? And what was the connection to Norman Rockwell? Bruce Loveys, who also contacted News10 told us he knew. "My father Marvin Loveys was supervising principal of Schoharie Central School,” said Loveys. He told Anya that back around 1953 Marvin Loveys got a call from Norman Rockwell, who had been told Schoharie had a specific style of bench he was looking for. “My father said, 'Yes. In fact we do have a bench. It's nothing that special. It’s just a bench.' And my father and I went up to the school and got the bench and loaded it into his [Rockwell's] station wagon.”

Loveys says Rockwell borrowed the bench twice before returning it along with his signature on the back. Blanchard points to articles from the time, where Norman Rockwell thanked the district and Marvin Loveys as solid evidence that backs up the signature on the back of the bench as belonging to Rockwell. Anya asked Bruce Loveys if he was glad that his dad saved the bench for future generations. "Yes," he replied. "Even though I had to sit on it a couple times." He told Anya, he called it the "bad boy" bench. A place where misbehaving kids waited before receiving a good talking to from the principal. Something that definitely resonates in "The Young Lady With The Shiner".