DALLAS — A rendering by Norman Rockwell of one of his best known baseball-themed paintings has sold at auction for $1.6 million.
The work was a study, or a preliminary work, for Rockwell's "Tough Call."
The painting depicts three umpires looking skyward pondering whether to call a game because of rain. It's arguably the most recognizable of his baseball-themed works.
Heritage Auctions says the painting sold Sunday in Dallas to a buyer who wants to remain anonymous.
The Austin family who put the work up for auction thought they just had a print of the work before they had it examined.
The final painting is in the possession of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
The Associated Press
