Information on Norman Rockwell Art

Noted art historian Karal Ann Marling called Norman Rockwell the most popular American artist of the 20th century, and with good reason. It has been estimated that more people have seen Rockwell's art than have seen the works of Michelangelo, Picasso and Rembrandt combined. Despite these assertions, Rockwell modestly referred to himself as an illustrator. Regardless of the label attached to him, there's no arguing that Norman Rockwell stands as a titan over the world of American art.

Subject Matter

The subject matter of Norman Rockwell's art was Americana. His illustrations depicted middle-class Americans living out what many saw as the typical American life, which probably existed for very few people. Classic examples of Rockwell's art feature Thanksgiving dinners, a doctor examining his patient and people ice skating over a frozen pond.

Critical Appreciation

Norman Rockwell was not considered a critical success during his lifetime. His stringently realistic, representative art stood in stark contrast to the burgeoning nonrepresentational art movements of his time, which included Cubism, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. Rockwell was considered an artist for regular people rather than for critics and was not viewed as an innovator.

Saturday Evening Post

Rockwell rose to stardom in the art world primarily as a result of his covers for the very popular Saturday Evening Post. His covers reflected a nostalgia for a small-town, homespun, innocent America that existed only in the minds of most small-town denizens. Between 1916 and 1963, Rockwell created 322 covers for the Saturday Evening Post.

War Posters

Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post covers and other works revealed a love of the American dream and patriotism that translated well in the World War II era. Rockwell created a series of posters and covers starring a character he named Willie Gillis, and the art covered Gillis from his military enlistment all the way through his discharge. In the process, Gillis became familiar to millions of Americans and evolved into a kind of iconic everyman that personified the patriotic duties involved during the war.

Advertising

In addition to creating propaganda for the war effort, Rockwell also looked forward to pop art by creating product advertisements that came to be seen as established works of art. Rockwell's advertising posters ran the gamut, from Elgin watches to Cream of Kentucky bourbon. Rockwell's posters for Coca-Cola have become collectibles and represent perhaps his most well-known advertising work.

Liberal Conscience

Surprising many of his long-time fans and even turning off a few, Rockwell became one of the foremost chroniclers of the liberal American conscience in the early 1960s. His most famous work from this period was done for Look magazine, when he painted scenes of a frightened young black child being escorted to a newly desegregated school by U.S. marshals. Another famous illustration depicts three civil rights workers who were lynched in Mississippi while attempting to register black voters.

Legacy

Like many popular artists, Norman Rockwell had to wait a long time to be given his rightful due by art critics. He is especially admired today as a premier narrative artist whose work tells a story despite its static limitations. Commercially, Rockwell has never gone out of style; his "Rosie the Riveter" sold at auction at Sotheby's in 2002 for nearly $5 million.

Resources

• American Masters: Norman Rockwell