Description
Rockwell was a masterful storyteller who could distill a narrative into a single frame. His pictures tell stories about the adventure of growing up, of individuals rising up to face personal challenges, the glamour of Hollywood and the importance of tolerance in American life. He created his pictures with strategies similar to those used by filmmakers.
The exhibition is based on new research into Rockwell, his work and the relationships between the artist and the movies. It showcases fifty-seven major Rockwell paintings and drawings from these private collections. Telling Stories is organized by Virginia M. Mecklenburg, senior curator.
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Credit
Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Booz Allen Hamilton has provided generous support as the corporate sponsor of the exhibition. The museum also gratefully acknowledges the contributions of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.
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Polley Voos Fransay? (Soldier Speaking to Little French Girl)
Life, November 22, 1917.
Oil on canvas, 30 x 23 in.
Collection of George Lucas
In 1917, Rockwell remarked, “I couldn’t read a newspaper without finding an idea for a cover.” Many of his magazine covers during World War I emphasize the youth and naïveté of the many recruits drafted from America’s farms and small towns. The boy in Polley Voos Fransay tries out the few words of French he has learned on a puzzled little girl. The image acknowledges parents’ concerns about the psychological effects their sons would suffer fighting in the trenches.
Pardon Me (Children Dancing at a Party)
The Saturday Evening Post, January 26, 1918
oil on canvas, 23 x 19 in.
Collection of George Lucas
Pardon Me is a classic narrative of adolescent embarrassment. Apart from the clothing, the incident might well have taken place anywhere or any time. As Steven Spielberg remarked, "It is a scene of innocent humor---something we've all done when we were younger. . . . Rockwell was extolling the virtues of simple values and simple moments."
Shadow Artist
The Country Gentleman, February 7, 1920
oil on canvas, 25 x 25 in.
Collection of George Lucas
Shadow Artist is reminiscent of the pantomime shows that appeared in vaudeville programs during Rockwell's youth. The scene is presented from the point of view of the children who watch the shadow maker in awe. George Lucas noted, "Just by the tilt of the heads, just by their body language, you can tell they are completely fascinated by what they're watching, and you can see the pride . . . on the part of the shadow maker."
The Toy Maker
The Literary Digest, November 20, 1920
oil on canvas, 28 x 24 in.
Collection of George Lucas
The Toy Maker is a nostalgic reminder of old-time toy making, which almost disappeared when industrial manufacturing began replacing hand-work in the early years of the twentieth century. By 1920, a revival of toy making by New England woodworkers reflected a desire for simple toys that encouraged children to invent and imagine. The red, white, and blue whirligig in Rockwell's picture suggests that its creator was one of these American woodcrafters.
Christmas: Santa with Elves
The Saturday Evening Post, December 2, 1922
oil on canvas, 30 ¾ x 28 ¾ in.
Collection of George Lucas
The Stuff of Which Memories Are Made
Edison Mazda Lampworks advertisement, 1922
oil on canvas, 39 ½ x 27 ¾ in.
Collection of George Lucas
In 1920 Rockwell received a commission from General Electric's Edison Mazda Lamp division to paint images for an advertising campaign. It demonstrates Rockwell's growing skill at using light to create an emotional tone. Over a seven-year period, Rockwell painted at least twenty ads for Edison Mazda that appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, Ladies' Home Journal, and Good Housekeeping magazines.
---And Daniel Boone Comes to Life on the Underwood Portable
Underwood typewriter advertisement, 1923
oil on canvas, 36 x 28 in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
Boy Reading Adventure Story
The Saturday Evening Post, November 10, 1923
oil on canvas, 30 x 24 in.
Collection of George Lucas
Boy Reading Adventure Story is about the power of the written word to transport a child to a distant land and time. George Lucas commented, "It's a painting celebrating literature, the magic that happens when you read a story, and the story comes alive for you." When working on Star Wars, he said, "I realized that you could still sit and dream about exotic lands and strange creatures."
Graduation (Boy with Teacher)
The Saturday Evening Post, June 26, 1926
oil on canvas, 32 x 25 in.
Collection of George Lucas
© 1926 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
The round glasses and parted hair of the boy in Graduation resemble caricatures Rockwell drew of himself as an adolescent. Rockwell had mixed feelings about formal education. He loved learning but never excelled at academics and left high school after two years to study art full time.
Pioneer of the Air (Portrait of Charles Lindbergh)
The Saturday Evening Post, July 23, 1927
oil on canvas, 22 ½ x 18 ½ in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1927 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved. Photo © 2010 American Illustrators Gallery ™ NYC
Rockwell dropped everything and painted for twenty-six hours straight to finish this portrait of Charles Lindbergh. The young airmail pilot from St. Louis had just landed in Paris after thirty-three-and-a-half hours in the air. The heraldic image links Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic with Christopher Columbus's voyage to America in the Santa Mariaand with settlers who went westward in covered wagons.
The Apple Peeler
Duchess Trousers advertisement, 1927
oil on canvas, 34 x 18 in.
Collection of George Lucas
Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL
The tan palette, concentrated facial expression, and loosely brushed background of The Apple Peeler resemble Thomas Eakins's painting The Thinker, which Rockwell would have seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The solitary figure may also reflect Rockwell's own sense of isolation as his first marriage was beginning to fail.
Spirit of America
Boy Scouts of America Calendar, 1929
oil on canvas, 20 x 16 in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© Brown and Bigelow. Photo © 2010 American Illustrators Gallery ™ NYC
When the Boy Scouts of America approached Rockwell to paint the pictures for their calendar he accepted and donated the picture to thank them for hiring him to be their magazine's art director when he was just eighteen. Spirit of America, the 1929 calendar, shows a Boy Scout surrounded by portraits of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Lindbergh, and other heroic figures of the American past and present. It links Boy Scouts with brave and selfless individuals throughout American history. when we were younger. . . . Rockwell was extolling the virtues of simple values and simple moments."
The Gossips (Three Ladies Gossiping)
The Saturday Evening Post, January 12, 1929
oil on canvas, 27 x 22 in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1929 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
Rockwell recalled the day he met the man who posed for The Gossips: "I remember it was June and terribly hot. . . . Suddenly the downstairs door banged and I heard someone come up the stairs, treading on each step with a loud, deliberate thump. . . . A tiny old man with a knobby nose, an immense, drooping mustache, and round, heavy-lidded eyes stamped …into the studio." Rockwell wanted to do a painting of three women gossiping but could not find models who were sufficiently funny looking. James Van Brunt was perfect. He agreed to shave off his mustache and posed for all three figures. Rockwell said he laughed himself silly at the way Van Brunt pranced around the studio in the long skirts and little hats.
Gary Cooper as the Texan
The Saturday Evening Post, May 24, 1930
oil on canvas, 35 x 26 in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1930 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
In 1930 Rockwell had a chance to visit Hollywood. He was thrilled. He wanted to do a picture of a "rawboned, glamorous cowboy." The publicity director at Paramount Pictures suggested Gary Cooper, who was about to begin shooting The Texan. Although now mostly forgotten, the movie was a hit when it was released. Westerns like The Texan that were billed as "expressing the spirit of America" provided escape from the downward-spiraling economy during the early months of the Depression.
Woman at Vanity
The Saturday Evening Post, October 21, 1933
oil on canvas, 32 ¼ x 23 ½ in
Collection of George Lucas
© 1933 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
The young woman sitting at the frilly dressing table is a home-town version of the stock Hollywood blonde favored by movie studios in the 1930s. She is dressed in a copy of a gown worn by Joan Crawford in the 1932 film Letty Lynton. It was probably the most famous fashion item of the day. Macy's department store capitalized on the popular style by selling some 500,000 replicas in its Cinema Shop.
Couple in Rumble Seat
The Saturday Evening Post, July 13, 1935
oil on canvas, 21 x 17 ¼ in.
Collection of George Lucas
© 1935 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
Peach Crop
The American Magazine, April 1935
oil on canvas, 16 x 36 in.
Collection of George Lucas
Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL
Peach Crop illustrates a Depression-era story extolling the virtues of true love over wealth. An impoverished medical student is engaged to a beautiful, but selfish socialite. He falls instead for a pretty but poor young woman who is injured at work. When he learns she wants to go to nursing school to help people, he reconsiders his marriage plans.
Movie Starlet and Reporters
The Saturday Evening Post, March 7, 1936
oil on canvas, 35 x 32 in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1936 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved. Photo © 2010 American Illustrators Gallery ™ NYC
Movie Starlet and Reporters was once described as a picture of Jean Harlow being interviewed, but the model was probably Mardee Hoff, the daughter of another Post cover artist. Hoff hoped to break into the movies, and her face was familiar from magazines and newspaper ads. The day Rockwell's cover hit the newsstands, three movie companies wired the Post for her name, and within two weeks she was off to California under contract to Twentieth Century-Fox.
Jo Seated on the Old Sofa from "The Most Beloved American Writer"
Woman's Home Companion, December 1937
oil on canvas, 32 x 25 in.
Collection of George Lucas
Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL
Rockwell traveled to Louisa May Alcott's home in Concord, Massachusetts, before beginning illustrations for a serialized biography of her life. Alcott's book, Little Women, became an immediate classic when it was published in 1868, and was a hit again in 1933 when George Cukor's film adaptation won an Oscar for Best Screenplay. Its message---that family counts more than wealth, and happiness comes to those who help the less fortunate---was an apt revival subject in Depression-era America.
Marble Champion
The Saturday Evening Post, September 2, 1939
oil on canvas, 28 x 22 in.
Collection of George Lucas
© 1939 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
Proud Possessor
The American Magazine, May 1940
charcoal on paper, 35 x 28 in.
Collection of George Lucas
Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL
"Proud Possessor" is a story about the love of a boy named Kiah for two puppies that his mother forbids him to keep. He strikes a deal with his friend Pomp. Pomp will care for the dogs, but exacts a prized pocketknife as payment. Rockwell illustrates the moment when Kiah, on the right, agrees to surrender his pride for the love of his animals.
River Pilot
The Saturday Evening Post, September 21, 1940
oil on canvas, 44 x 58 in.
Collection of George Lucas
© 1940 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
In the story "River Pilot," young Jem Bates faces his first test of manhood. Newly credentialed as a river pilot, he aims to prove the worthiness of his old-time paddle wheeler by beating a new, propeller-driven vessel in a race up the flooded Connecticut River. The stakes are high---the winner will be awarded a lucrative express freight contract. Against all advice, he heads out, banking on his knowledge of the river to avoid sandbars and floating debris. It is a story of romance and duty in which tradition triumphs over technology.
The Flirts
The Saturday Evening Post, July 26, 1941
oil on canvas, 34 ¼ x 27 ¼ in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1941 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
The Flirts emphasizes the pretensions of the glamour-girl type as she sits in her convertible pointedly ignoring two men in an adjacent truck. The encounter is brief and their social differences are obvious, but, as Steven Spielberg remarked, the men's glances are "totally innocent, completely moral," and "at the same time, just naughty enough" that you know the guys aren't "total squares."
The Convention (Hat Check Girl)
The Saturday Evening Post, May 3, 1941
oil on canvas, 43 x 34 in.
Collection of George Lucas
© 1941 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
Rockwell was sympathetic to young people who went to Hollywood hoping to break into the movies, but ended up working in drugstores and waiting tables and were too proud to return home. The young hat check girl may have been an aspiring actress trying to make ends meet while waiting for a chance at stardom.
Let Nothing You Dismay
Ladies' Home Journal, July 1941
oil on canvas, 33 x 64 in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL
Rockwell's love for painting is apparent in this picture of a disappointed little girl. It is larger than most of his canvases, and the surface alternates painterly brushstrokes with smooth, carefully worked areas. Although the story weaves a host of emotional motifs about parenthood and the importance of small episodes in the lives of children, Rockwell's illustration gives no clues to the plot. He intended instead to induce magazine subscribers to read the whole story.
Freedom of Speech (preliminary version)
The The Saturday Evening Post, February 20, 1943
oil on posterboard, 21 ½ x 16 ½ in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved. Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Rockwell wanted to do something to help the war effort. Sleepless one night, an idea came to him. A neighbor had spoken out in town meeting and although everyone else disagreed, Rockwell said, "They let him have his say. No one shouted him down. My gosh, I thought, that's it. There it is. Freedom of Speech. I'll illustrate [President Roosevelt's] Four Freedoms and use my Vermont neighbors as models. I'll express the ideas in simple, everyday scenes. Freedom of Speech a New England town meeting. Freedom from Want a Thanksgiving dinner. I'll put them in terms everybody can understand." In 1943, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Saturday Evening Post sent Rockwell's "Four Freedoms" paintings on tour as part of a war bond drive. People all over the country came to see the show and to buy bonds. In just a year, the drive raised more than $132 million.
Little Girl Observing Lovers on a Train
The Saturday Evening Post, August 12, 1944
charcoal on paper, 33 x 28 in.
Collection of George Lucas
© 1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved. Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL
While his photographer snapped pictures, Rockwell's models adjusted poses in a train car that the Rutland Railroad parked on a siding near his studio in Arlington, Vermont. Rockwell combined elements from the photographs to make this drawing. Once it was finished, he wanted to change the lower left corner, so he added a fresh piece of paper and redrew the area that runs from the airman's right shoulder to the left edge of the drawing.
Back to Civvies
The Saturday Evening Post, December 15, 1945
oil on canvas, 39 x 30 in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1945 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
Back to Civvies shows a World War II Flying Fortress pilot in the bedroom where he grew up. Rockwell chose props that say a lot about the flyer's life both before and after he went to war. Even his name---Lt. A. H. Becktoft---is on the duffel bag on the floor. The insignia on the uniform jacket reveals that he served with distinction. The blue and yellow ribbon with the tiny oak leaf cluster indicates that he received the Air Medal twice.
Charwomen in Theater
The Saturday Evening Post, April 6, 1946
charcoal on paper, 40 x 31 ¼ in.
Collection of George Lucas
© 1946 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
Charwomen shows a moment of shared intimacy between two older women who work after hours in a place they are otherwise not apt to frequent. George Lucas observed, "It's more to them than just a job. They're interested in the place they work. You can imagine them sneaking up and watching shows, watching rehearsals. You can imagine them being proud that they work in the theater."
Going and Coming
The Saturday Evening Post, August 30, 1947
charcoal and pencil on paper, 28 x 26 ¾ in.
Collection of George Lucas
© 1947 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
After World War II, Americans headed for the seashore, lakes, and mountains on vacations long deferred due to gasoline rationing. Magazines and newspapers recommended ideal vacation spots and offered advice on what to do with pets while families were away. Travel agencies also reported that people were taking longer vacations because some 35 million Americans received the relatively new benefit of paid vacation time.
Boy on High Dive
The Saturday Evening Post, August 16, 1947
oil on canvas, 35 x 27 in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1947 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved. Photo © 2010 American Illustrators Gallery ™ NYC
Grandpa and Me: Raking Leaves
Four Seasons Calendar, 1948
oil on canvas, 18 ½ x 18 in.
Collection of George Lucas
© Brown and Bigelow
"Merry Christmas, Grandma…We Came in Our New Plymouth!"
Plymouth advertisement, Life, December 25, 1950
charcoal and crayon on paper, 53 x 48 in.
Collection of George Lucas
Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL
Rockwell's skill at depicting warmth and friendliness made him the ideal candidate for a lifestyle ad that connects Plymouth automobiles with home, holidays, and family. "Merry Christmas, Grandma" says nothing about the car; the picture could have been an ad for some other product. After the success of the "Four Freedoms" wartime paintings, Rockwell was in demand by companies hoping to associate their products with wholesome, quintessential American values.
Four Sporting Boys: Golf
Four Seasons Calendar, 1951
oil and pencil on canvas, 13 ½ x 12 in.
Collection of George Lucas
© Brown and Bigelow
Good Boy (Little Orphan at the Train)
Good Housekeeping, May 1951
oil on canvas, 32 x 68 in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL
"Orphan Train" is a first-person narrative told by an old man who had been the youngest child on a foundling train. After the orphanage where he lived burned down, the nuns headed out by rail, hoping to find homes for eighty-seven children. Steven Spielberg, an adoptive parent himself, remarked on "the hesitancy of the adoptive mom, the delicacy of her body position, the distance between her and the child. That is the drama and the pathos and the passion of the story."
Forsaken
New York Times, December 7, 1952
charcoal on paper, 19 x 16 ½ in.
Collection of George Lucas
Rockwell donated Forsaken to the New York Times for its "New York's One Hundred Neediest Cases" appeal in December 1952. The program, which continues to the present day, generates support for charitable organizations that address poverty and illness. Rockwell began contributing drawings to support the cause in the 1930s. The poignant drawing may reflect the emotional distress in his own family after his second wife, Mary, began treatment for depression.
Boy in Veterinarian's Office
The Saturday Evening Post, March 29, 1952
charcoal and pencil on paper, 40 ½ x 38 in.
Collection of George Lucas
© 1952 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
Mermaid
The Saturday Evening Post, August 20, 1955
oil on canvas, 45 x 36 in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1955 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved. Photo © 2010 American Illustrators Gallery ™ NYC
Rockwell had a special genius for turning thoughts and worries that everyone experiences into humorous vignettes. Mermaid was the first (and last) nude he ever did for a magazine cover. He said that the idea came from a trip he once took to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Steven Spielberg suggests that he might have loved the 1948 William Powell film Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid, a romantic comedy that starred a middle-aged Powell and nineteen-year-old Ann Blythe.
Happy Birthday Miss Jones
The Saturday Evening Post, March 17, 1956
oil on canvas, 45 ¼ x 43 ½ in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1956 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
Happy Birthday Miss Jones
The Saturday Evening Post, March 17, 1956
pencil on joined paper, 45 x 43 in.
Collection of George Lucas
© 1956 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
Girl Missing Tooth (The Checkup)
The Saturday Evening Post, September 7, 1957
oil on canvas, 29 x 27 in.
Collection of George Lucas
© 1957 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
Tender Years: New Calendar
Four Seasons Calendar, 1957
oil on canvas, 18 x 18 in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© Brown and Bigelow
In a rare explanation, Rockwell talked about the idea behind New Calendar: "My picture shows two people who, after living together for many years, have reached the stage of sympathy and compatibility for which all of us strive. They know their weaknesses and their strengths. They are comfortable and secure in their relationships with each other. And while Mother presumably takes Father's strong points for granted, she's still trying tolerantly to keep him on the straight and narrow when signs of frailty appear. Paintings like these are fun to do. While they are humorous, they are also human, and the subtle touch of forbearance evident in each of them is something all of us can learn."
The Rookie (Red Sox Locker Room)
The Saturday Evening Post, March 2, 1957
charcoal on joined paper, 40 ¼ x 38 ½ in.
Collection of George Lucas
© 1957 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
Several members of the Boston Red Sox starting line-up traveled to Stockbridge to pose for The Rookie. Pitcher Frank Sullivan sits tying his shoes, right fielder Jackie Jensen wears number 8, catcher Sammy White relaxes at left, and second baseman Billy Goodman stands to the right. Star hitter Ted Williams, who declined to make the trip, takes center stage as he stares down a newcomer. It was a topical subject in 1957. The controversial Williams hit his 400th home run the previous summer, but his confrontations with fans and sports writers were constantly in the news. Rarely had Rockwell portrayed a well known figure in such equivocal terms.
Elect Casey
The Saturday Evening Post, November 8, 1958
charcoal and pencil on joined paper, 58 ¼ x 45 ½ in.
Collection of George Lucas
© 1958 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
The Runaway
The Saturday Evening Post, September 20, 1958
pencil on paper, 32 x 28 in.
Collection of George Lucas
© 1958 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
The Jury
The Saturday Evening Post, February 14, 1959
oil on canvas, 46 ¼ x 44 in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1959 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
The Jury prompted readers to chuckle at an attractive young woman being pressured by her male peers. But in 1959, three states continued to prohibit women from serving on juries, and more than a dozen others imposed restrictions on their service. The idea of a jury holdout is also the theme of the 1957 movie 12 Angry Men, starring Henry Fonda, in which Fonda's character questions the evidence at a murder trial and holds out against the eleven other jurors.
The Jury
The Saturday Evening Post, February 14, 1959
oil on paper, 10 x 9 ½ in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1959 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved. Photo © 2010 American Illustrators Gallery ™ NYC
Window Washer
The Saturday Evening Post, September 17, 1960
oil on canvas, 45 x 42 in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1960 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved
Triple Self-Portrait
The Saturday Evening Post, February 13, 1960
charcoal and pencil on board, 44 x 34 ½ in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1960 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved. Photo © 2010 American Illustrators Gallery ™ NYC
Triple Self-Portrait appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post when the first installment of Rockwell's autobiography was published. The three likenesses acknowledge multiple sides of Rockwell's personality. Rockwell also tacitly admits that the images he had created for almost fifty years were constructed realities. The image on the easel looks younger than the sixty-six-year-old painter's reflection in the mirror.
Boy and Father: Baseball Dispute
Four Seasons Calendar, 1962
oil on canvas, 18 x 16 in.
Collection of George Lucas
© Brown and Bigelow
Boy and Father: Homework
Four Seasons Calendar, 1962
oil on canvas, 18 x 16 in.
Collection of George Lucas
© Brown and Bigelow
The Connoisseur
The Saturday Evening Post, January 13, 1962
oil on canvas mounted on board, 37 ¾ x 31 ½ in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
© 1962 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All rights reserved. Photo © 2010 American Illustrators Gallery ™ NYC
By 1962, Rockwell had been working for the Post for more than forty years. But things weren't going well at the magazine. Television was drawing advertising away from the print media, and several companies that advertised in the Postthought Rockwell too old-fashioned for their modern messages. It is tempting to speculate that this painting of a well-dressed older man contemplating a Jackson Pollock-like drip painting is a metaphorical self-portrait as Rockwell faces the future. The picture reminds Steven Spielberg of Alfred Hitchcock looking at the next wave---at Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda about to make Easy Rider.
A Time for Greatness
Look, July 14, 1964
oil on canvas, 41 x 33 in.
Collection of Steven Spielberg
Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL
Rockwell parted ways with the Post and began working with Look magazine at the end of 1963. A Time for Greatness was the centerpiece of the issue that came out the week of the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Rockwell shows John F. Kennedy as a visionary, gazing out beyond the crowds and hats and banners. It was a memorial to Kennedy eight months after his assassination and a reminder of vision and hope. The title was a Kennedy campaign slogan.
Little Girl Looking Downstairs at Christmas Party
McCall's, December 1964
oil on board, 10 x 10 ½ in.
Collection of George Lucas
Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL
First Trip to the Beauty Shop
Top Value trading stamp catalogue, 1961--1972
pencil on joined paper, 35 x 32 in.
Collection of George Lucas
Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL
Rockwell conceived the drawing of First Trip in 1961, when Jackie Kennedy was America's stylish First Lady. The finished version was published in 1972, which partly explains why the child no longer holds the magazine with Jackie's picture on the cover.
First Trip to a Beauty Shop
Top Value trading stamp catalogue, 1972
oil on canvas, 30 x 27 in.
Collection of George Lucas
Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL
First Trip to the Beauty Shop reprises an idea Rockwell first used in 1918. Mother and daughter are excited about the professional cut and style that symbolize the child's growth into girlhood. Rockwell tightened the focus between the almost-final drawing and the finished painting to emphasize the expression on the child's face as she regards herself in the mirror.
Can't Wait
Boy Scouts of America Calendar, 1972
charcoal on paper, 39 x 31 ½ in.
Collection of George Lucas
© Brown and Bigelow
Norman Rockwell, about 1950.
Courtesy Norman Rockwell Archives, Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA.
Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL
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Artists
Illustrator. A prolific artist, Rockwell created more than 300 covers for The Saturday Evening Post in addition to illustrating calendars, books, posters and advertisements. His work immortalized American family values and homespun characters.