Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 - November 8, 1978) is an American author, painter and illustrator. His works have a broad general appeal in the United States for their reflection on American culture. Rockwell is best known for the daily cover art illustrations he made for The Saturday Evening Post for nearly five decades. Among the most famous of Rockwell's works is the series of Willie Gillis , Rosie the Riveter , The Problems We All Live With , Saying Grace , and the Four Freedoms series. He is also famous for his 64-year relationship with Boy Scouts of America (BSA), where he produced covers for their publications of Boys' Life , calendars, and other illustrations. These works include popular images that reflect Scout Oath and Scout Law such as The Scoutmaster and A Scout Reverent A Guiding Hand , among many others.
Norman Rockwell is a prolific artist, producing more than 4,000 original works in his life. Much of his work is in public collections, or has been destroyed in fire or other misfortune. Rockwell is also tasked with illustrating more than 40 books, including Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and portraits for President Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, as well as foreign figures , including Gamal Abdel Nasser and Jawaharlal Nehru. His portrait subjects include Judy Garland. One of his last portraits was Colonel Sanders in 1973. His annual contribution to the Scout calendar between 1925 and 1976 (Rockwell was the recipient of the 1939 Silver Buffalo Award, the highest adult award given by Boy Scouts of America), was only slightly overshadowed by his most calendar work popular: illustrations "Four Seasons" for Brown & amp; The 17-year-old Bigelow began in 1947 and is reproduced in various styles and sizes since 1964. He paints six pictures for a Coca-Cola ad. Illustrations for books, catalogs, posters (especially film promotions), sheet music, stamps, playing cards and murals (including "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "God Bless the Hills", completed in 1936 for the Nassau Inn in Princeton, New Jersey ) equips the Rockwell oeuvre as an illustrator.
The work of Rockwell was dismissed by a serious art critic in his lifetime. Many of his works seem overly sweet in the opinion of modern critics, especially the Saturday Evening Post cover, which tends toward idealistic or sentimental portrayals of American life. This has led to the often-deprecatory adjectives, "Rockwellesque". As a result, Rockwell is not considered a "serious painter" by some contemporary artists, who regard his work as bourgeois and kitsch. Author Vladimir Nabokov grinned that Rockwell's brilliant technique was used "banal", and wrote in his book Pnin: "That DalÃÆ' is the twin brother of Norman Rockwell who was kidnapped by Gypsies in infancy." He is called an "illustrator" not an artist by some critics, as he does not mind, because that's what he calls himself.
However, in his later years, Rockwell began to receive more attention as a painter when he chose a more serious subject like the series on racism for Look magazine. One example of this more serious work is the The Problem We All Live With , which deals with the problem of racial integration. The painting depicts a young black girl, Ruby Bridges, flanked by a white federal marshal, walking to school past a wall ravaged by racist graffiti. The painting is on display at the White House when Bridges meets with President Obama in 2011.
Video Norman Rockwell
Life
Initial years
Norman Rockwell was born on February 3, 1894, in New York City, to Jarvis Waring Rockwell and Anne Mary "Nancy" Rockwell, born Hill. His first ancestors in America were John Rockwell (1588-1662), from Somerset, England, who immigrated to colonial North America, probably in 1635, aboard Hopewell and became one of the first settlers in Windsor, Connecticut. He has one brother, Jarvis Waring Rockwell, Jr., who is one and a half years older. Jarvis Waring, Sr., is manager of New York's Philadelphia textile office, George Wood, Sons & amp; Company, where he spent his entire career.
Rockwell was transferred from high school to Chase Art School at the age of 14. He then proceeded to the National Academy of Design and finally to the Art Students League. There, he was taught by Thomas Fogarty, George Bridgman, and Frank Vincent DuMond; work originally produced for St. Nicholas Magazine , Boys 'Life Boys' America (BSA) publication , and other youth publications. As a student, Rockwell was given a minor less important job. His first major breakthrough came at the age of 18 with his first book illustration for Carl H. Claudy Tell Me Why: The Story of Mother Nature .
After that, Rockwell was hired as a staff artist for Boys' Life magazine. In this role, he receives a compensation of 50 dollars each month for a complete cover and a set of story illustrations. It is said that this is his first payment job as an artist. At 19, he became an art editor for Boys' Life, published by Boy Scouts of America. He held a three-year job, where he painted several covers, beginning with the first published magazine cover, Scout on Ship's Wheel , which appeared in the September edition of Boys' Life.
Paintings
The Rockwell family moved to New Rochelle, New York, when Norman was 21 years old. They shared the studio with cartoonist Clyde Forsythe, who works for The Saturday Evening Post. With the help of Forsythe, Rockwell sent his first successful cover art to Posting in 1916, Mother's Day Off (published on May 20th). He followed that success with Circus Barker and Strongman (published on June 3), Grandfather on the Plate (5 August), Redhead Loves Hatty Perkins ( 16 September), People at the Theater Balcony (14 October), and Man Playing Santa ââst> (9 December). Rockwell was published eight times on the cover of Posting within the first year. In the end, Rockwell published 323 original covers for The Saturday Evening Post for 47 years. His Sharp Harmony appeared on the cover of the 26 September 1936 edition; it depicts a barber and three clients, enjoying the song of acappella. The image was adopted by SPEBSQSA in promoting this art.
The success of Rockwell on the cover of Posting led to the cover for other magazines that day, especially the Literary Digest , Country Gentleman Leslie's Weekly Magazine < i>, Judge , Peoples Popular Monthly and Life .
When Rockwell's tenure began with the The Saturday Evening Post in 1916, he left his position in Boys' Life, but continued to include scouts in the Post image cover and monthly magazine American Red Cross . He returned to work with the Boy Scouts of America in 1926 with his first painting production consisting of fifty-one original illustrations for the official American Scouts annual calendar, still to be seen at the Norman Rockwell Art Gallery at the National Scouting Museum in the city of Irving near Dallas, Texas.
During World War I, he tried to enroll in the US Navy but was refused entry because, weighing 140 pounds (64 kg), he weighed eight pounds for someone 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. To compensate, he spends one night biting on bananas, liquids and donuts, and is weighty enough to register the next day. He was given the role of a military artist, however, and saw no action during his journey.
World War II
In 1943, during World War II, Rockwell painted the Four Freedoms series, which was completed in seven months and resulted in a loss of fifteen pounds. The series was inspired by a speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt, in which he described four principles for universal rights: Freedom from Desire, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship and Freedom from Fear. The paintings were published in 1943 by The Saturday Evening Post . Rockwell uses the Pennell ship family from Brunswick, Maine as a model for two paintings, Free from Want and A Grateful Mom , and will incorporate models from his own photos and visions. to create his idealistic painting. The US Treasury then promoted the war bonds by displaying original documents in sixteen cities. Rockwell considers Freedom of Speech to be the best of the four.
That same year, the fire in his studio destroyed many original paintings, costumes, and props. Since the periods of costumes and props are irreplaceable, the fire splits his career into two phases, the second phase depicting the character and the modern situation. Rockwell was contacted by writer Elliott Caplin, brother of cartoonist Al Capp, with the suggestion that the three of them should make daily comics together, with Caplin and his brother writing and drawing Rockwell. King Features Syndicate is reported to have promised a $ 1,000 deal per week, knowing that the Capp-Rockwell collaboration will gain strong public attention. The project was finally canceled, however, it turned out that Rockwell, known for his perfectionism as an artist, was unable to deliver material so quickly as it was necessary for daily comics.
Later career
During the late 1940s, Norman Rockwell spent the winter months as an artist-in-residence at Otis College of Art and Design. The occasional student is a model for the cover of Saturday Evening Post . In 1949, Rockwell donated the original cover of Posts , April Fools , to be drawn in a library fundraiser.
In 1959, after his wife, Mary died suddenly of a heart attack, Rockwell took time off from work to grieve. It was during that break that he and his son Thomas produced the Rockwell autobiography, My Adventure as Illustrator , published in 1960. The Post Quotes were printed from this book in eight consecutive problems, which first contains Rockwell's famous Triple Self-Portrait.
Rockwell's last painting for Post was published in 1963, marking the end of a publishing relationship that has included 321 cover paintings. He spent the next 10 years painting for Look magazine, in which his work depicts his interest in civil rights, poverty, and space exploration.
In 1966, Rockwell was invited to Hollywood to paint portraits of movie stars Stagecoach, and also found himself appearing in addition to the movie, playing "a bad old gambler".
In 1968, Rockwell was commissioned to create cover photo albums Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper for their records, Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper .
In 1969, as a tribute to Rockwell's 75th birthday of his birth, Brown & amp; Bigelow and Boy Scouts of America asked Rockwell to pose in Beyond the Easel , a calendar illustration that year.
His final commission for Boy Scouts of America is a calendar illustration titled The Spirit of 1976 , completed when Rockwell was 82 years old, ending a partnership that produced 471 images for magazines, manuals, calendars, and promotions. ingredients. His relationship with BSA spanned 64 years, marking the longest professional association of his career. His legacy and style for BSA has been run by Joseph Csatari.
For "a clear and compassionate portrait of our country," Rockwell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor of the United States, in 1977 by President Gerald Ford. Rockwell's son, Jarvis, received the award.
Death
Rockwell died on November 8, 1978, emphysema at the age of 84 years at the home of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. First Lady Rosalynn Carter attends her funeral.
Personal life
Rockwell married his first wife, Irene O'Connor, in 1916. Irene was a Rockwell model on Mother Tucking Children into Bed, published on the cover of The Literary Digest on January 19, 1921 The couple divorced in 1930. Depressed, he moved briefly to Alhambra, California as a guest of his old friend, Clyde Forsythe. There he painted some of his most famous paintings including The Doctor and the Doll . While there he met and married school teacher Mary Barstow in 1930. The couple returned to New York shortly after their marriage. They have three children: Jarvis Waring, Thomas Rhodes, and Peter Barstow. The family lives at 24 Lord Kitchener Road in New York's Bonnie Crest neighborhood of Rochelle. For various reasons, Rockwell and his wife did not attend church regularly, even though they were members of St. Wilmot Church. John, the Episcopal church near their home, where their son was baptized. Rockwell moved to Arlington, Vermont, in 1939 where his work began to reflect the life of a small town.
In 1953, the Rockwell family moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, so that his wife could be admitted to Austen Riggs Center, a mental hospital on 25 Main Street, near where Rockwell founded his studio. Rockwell also received psychiatric treatment, saw analyst Erik Erikson, who worked at Riggs. Erikson is said to have told the artist that he painted his happiness, but did not live it. In 1959, Mary died unexpectedly from a heart attack. Rockwell married his third wife, retired Milton Academy English teacher Mary Leete "Mollie" Punderson (1896-1985), on October 25, 1961. His Stockbridge studio is located on the second floor of a row of buildings; just below the Rockwell studio, for a while in 1966, the Back Room, better known as the famous "Alice Restaurant". During his time in Stockbridge, police chief William Obanhein is a model often used for Rockwell's paintings.
From 1961 to his death, Rockwell was a member of Monday Night Club, a men's literary group based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. At his funeral, five club members served as bearers, along with Jarvis Rockwell.
Maps Norman Rockwell
Legacy
Maintenance of original paintings and drawings was established with the help of Rockwell near his home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and the Norman Rockwell Museum is still open today throughout the year. The museum collections include over 700 original Rockwell paintings, paintings and studies. The Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies at the Norman Rockwell Museum is a national research institute dedicated to the art of American illustration.
Source of the article : Wikipedia