Norman Rockwell

Lore & Background

Rockwell was born in Harlem, New York City, to Jarvis Waring Rockwell and Anne Mary Hill Rockwell. He transferred from high school to the Chase Art School at age 14, later studying at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League of New York. His first major artistic job came at age 18, illustrating Carl H. Claudy's book Tell Me Why. He became art editor for Boys' Life at 19, holding the job for three years. In 1916, with help from cartoonist Clyde Forsythe, Rockwell submitted his first successful cover to The Saturday Evening Post, beginning a 47-year association during which he published 322 original covers. During World War I, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy after gaining weight to meet the minimum requirement, serving as a military artist without seeing action. In 1943, he painted the Four Freedoms series, inspired by a speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt, which was published by The Saturday Evening Post and later used by the U.S. Treasury to promote war bonds. A fire that same year destroyed many original paintings, costumes, and props, splitting his career into two phases.

Reader's Guide

Rockwell's significance lies in his prolific output—more than 4,000 original works—and his ability to capture American culture through idealized and sentimental portrayals. His work for The Saturday Evening Post, the Boy Scouts of America, and commercial clients like Coca-Cola and General Motors made him a household name. Despite dismissal by serious art critics during his lifetime, who often used the deprecatory adjective 'Rockwellesque' to describe his overly sweet style, Rockwell himself accepted the label 'illustrator.' In his later years, he turned to more serious subjects, such as the series on racism for Look magazine, including The Problem We All Live With, which depicted school racial integration. This painting was displayed in the White House in 2011 when Ruby Bridges met President Barack Obama. Rockwell's legacy endures through his vast body of work in public collections and his influence on American visual culture.

Did You Know?

• Rockwell produced more than 4,000 original works in his lifetime.
• He painted portraits of presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, as well as foreign figures Gamal Abdel Nasser and Jawaharlal Nehru.
• His first published magazine cover was Scout at Ship's Wheel on the September 1913 edition of Boys' Life.
• Rockwell considered Freedom of Speech to be the best of the Four Freedoms series.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed. My fundamental purpose is to interpret the typical American. I am a story teller." — Norman Rockwell "I'll never have enough time to paint all the pictures I'd like to." — Norman Rockwell "The secret to so many artists living so long is that every painting is a new adventure. So, you see, they're always looking ahead to something new and exciting. The secret is not to look back." — Norman Rockwell