Can you think back over the past year or so and remember a sign, poster, newspaper photograph, or cover of a magazine? If so, how is that possible that you recall it? Perhaps it created a warm or nostalgic type of feeling or it was something that you were able to relate to personally. Now think of the artist who created the piece. Most of the time we cannot recall the artist's name. Norman Rockwell’s artistic works were inspiring and symbolized everyday American human life and created pieces that were memorable, and one can relate to them whether one lived there or not. He composed many definitive pictures of the all-American culture. Most of the works of Rockwell were created as cover illustrations of The Saturday Evening Post magazine. This essay contains some interesting information about Norman Rockwell, his artistic technique, the influential impact of his pieces, and a critique of these works.
Norman Rockwell was born on February 3rd, 1894 in New York, New York. At the young age of 14, Norman wanted to be an artist and enrolled in art classes at The New York School of Art (formerly The Chase School of Art). He dropped out of high school his sophomore year at the age of 16 to pursue his passion for art and became a student at the National Academy of Design. (2) Norman then decided to transfer to The Art Students League and studied under Georg Bridgman and Thomas Fogarty. The Norman Rockwell Museum reports, “Fogarty’s teachings and direction with illustration prepared him for his future and his initial commercial commissions. Bridgman influenced him to learn the technical skills which Norman utilized throughout his entire career.” (3) Prior to his 16th birthday, he painted his first commission of four Christmas cards. He was awarded his first freelance assignment at the age of 17 with Conde Nast. As a teenager, he was hired as the art director of Boys’ Life which was the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America and this position ignited a prosperous freelance career. (6)
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As a young adult at the age of 21, Rockwell’s family relocated to New Rochelle, New York. This move led them to share a studio apartment with cartoonist Clyde Forsythe who worked for The Saturday Evening Post. Through Clyde Forsythe’s assistance and encouragement, Rockwell completed his first cover painting and submitted it to the Post. On May 20th, 1916 his first cover painting Mother’s Day Off was published.
Over the course of the next 47 years, his talents and works were mostly known while working for the Saturday Evening Post in which he illustrated a total of 322 magazine covers. In addition, he illustrated the official Boy Scout Calendar from 1926 to 1976. (8)
Norman Rockwell was known for his works as a surrealist, impressionist, and abstract expressionist. He used a variety of mediums for his magazine covers and illustrations, books, calendars, murals, advertisements, and portraits. Once Rockwell had an idea, he drew quick sketches (no larger than 6 inches) with a soft pencil on paper. Next, Rockwell worked with charcoal (he preferred Fusains Rouget No. 3) on architects' detail paper (which was slightly raised, so he smoothed it with a kneaded eraser). The paper size was the same size as his final painting. Then Rockwell used architects' tracing paper to transfer his final charcoal drawing onto a double-primed linen canvas or sometimes a wood panel. His paints were oil, particularly Winsor and Newton, mixed with Grumbacher's Oil Medium No. 2, using turpentine to further thin the colors. His favorite brushes were Rubens' long bristle flat brushes, and he occasionally used sable brushes for details. When Rockwell traveled, he used ink, oils, and watercolors. Many of his book illustrations and other black-and-white images were made with Wolff crayons (carbon pencils). Sources for Rockwell's Illustrations-Rockwell often drew directly from a setup of live people (usually from his own neighborhood) and background pieces (found anywhere from flea markets to auctions). Later in life, he had his sets photographed and then worked from the 8 by 10 prints. (7)
[image: ]During World War II, posters of his paintings portraying the “Four Freedoms” were reproduced and distributed by the Office of War Information. These works were inspired by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, known as Four Freedoms, which he delivered on January 6, 1941. In 1943, during World War II, Rockwell painted the Four Freedoms series, which was completed in seven months and resulted in his losing fifteen pounds. The series was inspired by a speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt, wherein Roosevelt described and articulated Four Freedoms for universal rights. Rockwell then painted Freedom from Want, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, and Freedom from Fear. The paintings were published in 1943 by The Saturday Evening Post. Rockwell used the Pennell shipbuilding family from Brunswick, Maine as models for two of their paintings, Freedom from Want and A Thankful Mother, and would combine models from photographs and his own vision to create his idealistic paintings. The United States Department of the Treasury later promoted war bonds by exhibiting the originals in sixteen cities. Rockwell considered Freedom of Speech to be the best of the four. (9)
For inspiration, he thought of the New England town hall meetings he knew so well, with their long tradition of democratic public debate—a tradition, as we have seen this summer, still very much alive. But we are not sure where Rockwell's scene occurs; a blackboard frames the speaker, but he stands behind a pew: school and church, two pillars of American life. The pamphlet held by the man closest to us reveals the subject of the meeting—a discussion of the town's annual report.
Using a classic pyramidal composition, Rockwell focuses attention on the standing speaker whose age, worn and stained jacket, rough hands with dirty fingernails, and plaid shirt set him apart from the neat coats, ties, and white shirts of the older men in the audience. Although he is a working man, this figure, his face reminiscent of Lincoln's, is unafraid to voice his opinion—which we suspect is contrary to that of the others in the room. Standing tall, his mouth open, his shining eyes transfixed, he speaks his mind, untrammeled and unafraid. In Rockwell's vision, he has become not only an active public participant in democracy but a defender of it. He is the very embodiment of free speech, a living manifestation of that abstract right—an image that transforms principle, paint, and, yes, creed, into an indelible image and a brilliant and beloved American icon still capable of inspiring millions worldwide. (10)
Commonplaces never become tiresome. It is we who become tired when we cease to be curious and appreciative. We find that it is not a new scene which is needed, but a new viewpoint.”(5)
According to Shelley Esaak from ThoghtCo., “he painted 323 Saturday Evening Post Covers over the course of 47 years. Norman Rockwell was the most widely known and popular commercial artist of mid-20th century America.”(4)
He died on November 8, 1978, in Stockbridge, MA.
- http://www.artnet.com/artists/norman-rockwell/
- https://www.biography.com/artist/norman-rockwell
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Norman-Rockwell
- https://www.thoughtco.com/norman-rockwell-quick-facts-182648
- https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/148435.Norman_Rockwell
- http://pasintaj1.rssing.com/chan-67514148/latest.php
- http://trtrack.blogspot.com/2015/12/what-type-of-medium-did-norman-rockwell.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Rockwell
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Speech_(painting)
- https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203440104574406903628933162
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