Film directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are combining their personal collections of the work of American artist Norman Rockwell for a Washington exhibition. More than 50 of Rockwell's paintings and drawings will be shown at the Smithsonian American Art Museum from July next year.
The illustrations will be accompanied by video footage of Spielberg and Lucas speaking about the artist, who died in 1978.
Virginia Mecklenburg, curator of the exhibition, said Rockwell's pictures highlighted "topical issues" and pointed out similarities between the two directors and the illustrator.
"Lucas, Spielberg and Rockwell perpetuate ideas about love of country, personal honour and the value of family in their work," Mecklenburg said.
"With humour and pathos, they have transformed everyday experiences into stories revealing the aspirations and values that have sustained Americans through good times and bad."
Rockwell was born in New York City in 1894, and served as a military artist during the first world war. He painted his first cover for the Saturday Evening Post in 1916, and illustrated a further 321 covers for the magazine over the next 47 years.
Much of Rockwell's work was lost in a fire that destroyed his studio in 1943, and the bulk of the remainder is believed to be in private collections.
Lucas will contribute the oldest painting to the exhibition, taken from a Life magazine cover in 1917.
Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg opens in July 2010 and runs until 2 January 2011.