Norman Rockwell's talent as a painter and visual storyteller made him twentieth century America's most widely known and best loved illustrator. Because of the good-natured humor and nostalgic qualities of his work, Rockwell's name has become synonymous with good old-fashioned, homespun values.
Rockwell was best known for his cover illustrations for "The Saturday Evening Post", of which he created 324 over a 47-year relationship. He sold his first cover to the "Post" in 1916, at age 22, launching a career that spanned seven decades. During that time, Rockwell created close to 6000 sketches and studies, which resulted in more than 2000 completed works, including illustrations for magazines, books, calendars and advertisements.
Born on February 3, 1894 in Manhattan's Upper West Side, Norman, the second of two sons, left high school in his sophomore year to become a full-time art student. A teacher at the Arts Student League helped him land his first professional assignment illustrating a children's book called "Tell Me Why Stories".
Rockwell spent most of his early career in New Rochelle, New York, a haven for artists and illustrators tired of the bustle and grime of the city. There he wed Irene O'Connor, a marriage that ended in divorce after thirteen years, in 1929. The following year Norman married Mary Barstow, a California schoolteacher he had met on a trip to Los Angeles. In 1939, with their three young sons, they moved from New Rochelle to rural Arlington, Vermont.
The move to Arlington helped spark a new look in Rockwell's work. Instead of professional models, he began using his family, friends, and neighbors to pose for his paintings. He also became more inventive with the settings and compositions he chose for his paintings, he intensified the already vivid level of detail in the scenes he rendered so carefully.
During this period, Rockwell produced his famous series of paintings, "The Four Freedoms" - based on principles set forth by President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the onset of World War II. The U. S. government used "The Four Freedoms" to help sell an unprecedented $132 million in war bonds.
Rockwell lived out his final years in Stockbridge, Massachusetts with his third wife, Molly Punderson Rockwell. In 1977, President Gerald Ford awarded him the Medal of Freedom. The next year Norman Rockwell died at age 84.
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Use of artwork by The Norman Rockwell Family Trust ("Estate Owned Art") and use of Norman Rockwell's name and likeness are provided under a license from the Norman Rockwell Estate Licensing Company.
Artwork from the Curtis Publishing Company ("Curtis Owned Art") is provided under a license from the Curtis Publishing Company.
