Norman Rockwell | |
|---|---|
 Rockwellc. 1921 | |
| Born | Norman Percevel Rockwell (1894-02-03)February 3, 1894 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | November 8, 1978(1978-11-08) (aged 84) |
| Education | |
| Known for |
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| Notable work | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3; includingPeter andThomas |
| Awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom |
Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an Americanpainter andillustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection ofthe country's culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life he created forThe Saturday Evening Post magazine over nearly five decades.[1] Among the best-known of Rockwell's works are theWillie Gillis series,Rosie the Riveter, theFour Freedoms series,Saying Grace, andThe Problem We All Live With. He is also noted for his 64-year relationship with theBoy Scouts of America (BSA), during which he produced covers for their publicationBoys' Life (nowScout Life), calendars, and other illustrations. These works include popular images that reflect theScout Oath andScout Law such asThe Scoutmaster,A Scout Is Reverent,[2] andA Guiding Hand.[3]
Rockwell was a prolific artist, producing more than 4,000 original works in his lifetime. Most of his surviving works are in public collections. Rockwell was also commissioned to illustrate more than 40 books, includingTom Sawyer andHuckleberry Finn and to paint portraits of PresidentsEisenhower,Kennedy,Johnson, andNixon, as well as those of foreign figures, includingGamal Abdel Nasser andJawaharlal Nehru. His portrait subjects also includedJudy Garland. One of his last portraits was ofColonel Sanders in 1973. His annual contributions for the Boy Scouts calendars between 1925 and 1976 were only slightly overshadowed by his most popular of calendar works: the "Four Seasons" illustrations forBrown & Bigelow that were published for 17 years beginning in 1947 and reproduced in various styles and sizes since 1964. He created artwork for advertisements for Coca-Cola, Jell-O, General Motors, Scott Tissue, and other companies.[4] Illustrations for booklets, catalogs, posters (particularly movie promotions), sheet music, stamps, playing cards, and murals (including "Yankee Doodle Dandy"[5] and "God Bless the Hills", which was completed in 1936 for theNassau Inn inPrinceton, New Jersey) rounded out Rockwell's oeuvre as an illustrator.
Rockwell's work was dismissed by serious art critics in his lifetime.[6] Many of his works appear overly sweet in the opinion of modern critics,[7] especiallyThe Saturday Evening Post covers, which tend toward idealistic or sentimentalized portrayals of American life. This has led to the often deprecatory adjective "Rockwellesque". Consequently, Rockwell is not considered a "serious painter" by some contemporary artists, who regard his work asbourgeois andkitsch. WriterVladimir Nabokov stated that Rockwell's brilliant technique was put to "banal" use, and wrote in his novelPnin: "ThatDalí is really Norman Rockwell's twin brother kidnapped by gypsies in babyhood."[8] He is called an "illustrator" instead of an artist by some critics, a designation he did not mind, as that was what he called himself.[9]
In his later years, Rockwell began receiving more attention as a painter when he chose more serious subjects such as the series on racism forLook magazine.[10] One example of this more serious work isThe Problem We All Live With, which dealt with the issue of schoolracial integration. The painting depictsRuby Bridges, flanked by whitefederal marshals, walking to school past a wall defaced by racist graffiti.[11] This 1964 painting was displayed in theWhite House when Bridges met with PresidentBarack Obama in 2011.[12]
Norman Rockwell was born on February 3, 1894, inNew York City, to Jarvis Waring Rockwell and Anne Mary "Nancy" (née Hill) Rockwell.[13][14][15] His father was aPresbyterian and his mother was anEpiscopalian;[16] two years after their engagement, he converted to the Episcopal faith.[17] Rockwell's earliest American ancestor was John Rockwell (1588–1662), fromSomerset, England, who immigrated to colonialNorth America, probably in 1635, aboard the shipHopewell and became one of the first settlers ofWindsor, Connecticut. Rockwell had one brother, Jarvis Jr., older by a year and a half.[18][19] Jarvis Sr. was the manager of the New York office of a Philadelphia textile firm, George Wood, Sons & Company, where he spent his entire career.[18][20][21]
Rockwell transferred from high school to the Chase Art School (laterParsons School of Design) at the age of 14. He then went on to theNational Academy of Design and finally to theArt Students League of New York.[22] There, Rockwell was taught by Thomas Fogarty,George Bridgman, andFrank Vincent DuMond;[23] his early works were produced forSt. Nicholas Magazine, theBoy Scouts of America (BSA) magazineBoys' Life,[24] and other youth publications. As a student, Rockwell had some small jobs, including one as asupernumerary at theMetropolitan Opera.[25] His first major artistic job came at age 18, illustratingCarl H. Claudy's bookTell Me Why: Stories about Mother Nature.[26]
After that, Rockwell was hired as a staff artist forBoys' Life. In this role, he received 50 dollars' compensation each month for one completed cover and a set of story illustrations. It is said to have been his first paying job as an artist.[27] At 19, Rockwell became the art editor forBoys' Life, published by the Boy Scouts of America. He held the job for three years,[28] during which Rockwell painted several covers, beginning with his first published magazine cover,Scout at Ship's Wheel, which appeared on theBoys' Life September 1913 edition.
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Rockwell's family moved toNew Rochelle, New York, when Norman was 21 years old. They shared a studio with thecartoonist Clyde Forsythe, who worked forThe Saturday Evening Post. With Forsythe's help, Rockwell submitted his first successful cover painting to thePost in 1916,[29]Mother's Day Off (published on May 20). He followed that success withCircus Barker and Strongman (published on June 3),Gramps at the Plate (August 5),Redhead Loves Hatty Perkins (September 16),People in a Theatre Balcony (October 14), andMan Playing Santa (December 9). Rockwell was published eight times on thePost cover within the first year. Ultimately, Rockwell published 323 original covers forThe Saturday Evening Post over 47 years. HisSharp Harmony appeared on the cover of the issue dated September 26, 1936; it depicts abarber and three clients, enjoying ana cappella song. The image was adopted bySPEBSQSA in its promotion of the art.
Rockwell's success on the cover of thePost led to covers for other magazines of the day, most notably theLiterary Digest, theCountry Gentleman,Leslie's Weekly,Judge,Peoples Popular Monthly andLife magazine.[30]
When Rockwell's tenure began withThe Saturday Evening Post in 1916, he left his salaried position atBoys' Life, but continued to include scouts inPost cover images and the monthly magazine of theAmerican Red Cross. He resumed work with the Boy Scouts of America in 1926 with production of his first of fifty-one original illustrations for the official Boy Scouts of America annual calendar, which still may be seen in theNorman Rockwell Art Gallery at theNational Scouting Museum[31] inCimarron, New Mexico.
During World War I, he tried to enlist into the U.S. Navy but was refused entry because, at 140 pounds (64 kg), he was eight pounds underweight for someone 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. To compensate, he spent one night gorging himself on bananas, liquids and doughnuts, and weighed enough to enlist the next day. He was given the role of a military artist, however, and did not see any action during his tour of duty.[32]
In 1943, duringWorld War II, Rockwell painted theFour Freedoms series, which was completed in seven months and resulted in him losing fifteen pounds. The series was inspired by a speech byFranklin D. Roosevelt, wherein Roosevelt described and articulatedFour Freedoms for universal rights. Rockwell then paintedFreedom from Want,Freedom of Speech,Freedom of Worship[33] andFreedom from Fear.[34]
The paintings were published in 1943 byThe Saturday Evening Post. Rockwell used the Pennell shipbuilding family from Brunswick, Maine as models for two of the paintings,Freedom from Want andA 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 promotedwar bonds by exhibiting the originals in sixteen cities. Rockwell consideredFreedom of Speech to be the best of the four.[35]
That same year, a fire in his studio destroyed numerous original paintings, costumes, and props.[36] Because the period costumes and props were irreplaceable, the fire split his career into two phases, the second phase depicting modern characters and situations. Rockwell was contacted by writerElliott Caplin, brother of cartoonistAl Capp, with the suggestion that the three of them should make a dailycomic strip together, with Caplin and his brother writing and Rockwell drawing. King Features Syndicate is reported to have promised a $1,000 per week deal, knowing that a Capp–Rockwell collaboration would gain strong public interest. The project was ultimately aborted, however, as it turned out that Rockwell, known for his perfectionism as an artist, could not deliver material so quickly as would be required of him for a daily comic strip.[36]
During the late 1940s, Norman Rockwell spent the winter months as artist-in-residence atOtis College of Art and Design. Occasionally, students were models for hisSaturday Evening Post covers.[37] In 1949, Rockwell donated an originalPost cover,April Fool, to be raffled off in a library fund raiser.
In 1959, after his wife Mary died suddenly from a heart attack,[38] Rockwell took time off from his work to grieve. It was during that break that he and his son Thomas produced Rockwell's autobiography,My Adventures as an Illustrator, which was published in 1960. ThePost printed excerpts from this book in eight consecutive issues, the first containing Rockwell's famousTriple Self-Portrait.[39]
Rockwell's last painting for thePost was published in 1963, marking the end of 47 years of a publishing relationship that had included 321 cover paintings. He spent the next 10 years painting forLook magazine, where his work depicted his interests in civil rights, poverty, andspace exploration.
In 1966, Rockwell was invited to Hollywood to paint portraits of the stars of the filmStagecoach, and also found himself appearing as an extra in the film, playing a "mangy old gambler".[40]
In 1968, Rockwell was commissioned to do an album cover portrait ofMike Bloomfield andAl Kooper for their record,The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper.[41]
As a tribute on the 75th anniversary of Rockwell's birth, officials of Brown & Bigelow and the Boy Scouts of America asked Rockwell to pose inBeyond the Easel as the illustration for the 1969 Boy Scout calendar.[42]
In 1969 theU. S. Bureau of Reclamation commissioned Rockwell to paint theGlen Canyon Dam.[43]
His last commission for the Boy Scouts of America was a calendar illustration titledThe Spirit of 1976, which was completed when Rockwell was 82, concluding a partnership which generated 471 images for periodicals, guidebooks, calendars, and promotional materials. His connection to the BSA spanned 64 years, marking the longest professional association of his career. His legacy and style for the BSA has been carried on byJoseph Csatari.
For "vivid and affectionate portraits of our country", Rockwell was awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedom, the United States of America's highest civilian honor, in 1977 by PresidentGerald Ford. Rockwell's son, Jarvis, accepted the award.[44]
Rockwell, a heavy smoker, died on November 8, 1978, ofemphysema at the age of 84 in his Stockbridge, Massachusetts, home.[45] First LadyRosalynn Carter attended Rockwell's funeral.
Rockwell married his first wife, Irene O'Connor, on July 1, 1916.[46] Irene was Rockwell's model inMother Tucking Children into Bed, published on the cover of TheLiterary Digest on January 19, 1921. The couple divorced on January 13, 1930.[47]
Depressed, Rockwell moved briefly toAlhambra, California, as a guest of his old friend Clyde Forsythe. There, Rockwell painted some of his best-known paintings, includingThe Doctor and the Doll. While there, he met and married schoolteacher Mary Barstow on April 17, 1930.[48] The couple returned to New York shortly after their marriage. They had three sons: Jarvis Waring,Thomas Rhodes, andPeter Barstow.[49] The family lived at 24 Lord Kitchener Road in the Bonnie Crest neighborhood ofNew Rochelle, New York.[50]
Rockwell and his wife were not regular church attendees, although they were members ofSt. John's Wilmot Church, anEpiscopal church near their home, and their sons were baptized there.[51] Rockwell moved toArlington, Vermont, in 1939 where his work began to reflect small-town life. He would later be joined by his good friendJohn Carlton Atherton.[48]
In 1953, the Rockwell family moved toStockbridge, Massachusetts, so that his wife could be treated at theAusten Riggs Center, a psychiatric hospital at 25 Main Street, close to where Rockwell set up his studio.[52] Rockwell also received psychiatric treatment, seeing the analystErik Erikson, who was on staff at Riggs. Erikson told biographerLaura Claridge that Rockwell painted his happiness, but did not live it.[53] On August 25, 1959, Mary died unexpectedly of a heart attack.[54]
Rockwell married his third wife, retiredMilton Academy English teacher Mary Leete "Mollie" Punderson (1896–1985), on October 25, 1961.[55] His Stockbridge studio was located on the second floor of a row of buildings. Directly underneath Rockwell's studio was, for a time in 1966, the Back Room Rest, better known as the famous "Alice's Restaurant". During his time in Stockbridge, chief of policeWilliam Obanhein was a frequent model for Rockwell's paintings.[56]
From 1961 until his death, Rockwell was a member of the Monday Evening Club, a men's literary group based inPittsfield, Massachusetts. At his funeral, five members of the club served aspallbearers, along with Jarvis Rockwell.[57]
A custodianship of his original paintings and drawings was established with Rockwell's help near his home inStockbridge, Massachusetts, and theNorman Rockwell Museum still is open today year-round.[58] The museum's collection includes more than 700 original Rockwell paintings, drawings, and studies. The Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies at the Norman Rockwell Museum is a national research institute dedicated to American illustration art.[59]
Rockwell's work was exhibited at theSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 2001.[60][61] Rockwell'sBreaking Home Ties sold for $15.4 million at a 2006Sotheby's auction.[6] A 12-city U.S. tour of Rockwell's works took place in 2008.[28]In 2008, Rockwell was named the official state artist of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.[62] The 2013 sale ofSaying Grace for $46 million (including buyer's premium) established a new record price for Rockwell.[63] Rockwell's work was exhibited at theReading Public Museum and theChurch History Museum in 2013–2014.
"If Norman Rockwell were alive today, he would be devastated to see [...] his own work has been marshalled for the cause of persecution toward immigrant communities and people of color".[80]
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Rockwell provided illustrations for several film posters.
He designed an album cover forThe Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper (1969).[88] He was also commissioned by English musicianDavid Bowie to design the cover artwork for his 1975 albumYoung Americans, but the offer was retracted after Rockwell informed him he would need at least half a year to complete a painting for the album.[89]
But let me again congratulate each and every one of you. I regret that Irving Berlin, Alexander Calder, the late Alexander Calder, and Georgia O'Keeffe were unable to be represented here today. We will of course present their medals to them or to their families at a later date.
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