Norman RockwellContemporary American Illustrator

Mrs. Fox

“Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showingthe America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed.”—Norman Rockwell

IllustrationA visualization or a depiction made by an artist, such as a drawing, sketch, painting, photograph, or other kind of image of things seen, remembered or imagined

Biography• Born Norman Percevel

Rockwell• 1894 – 1978• Left high school at age

14 to attend art school – began his career at 17

• Most famous illustrator of the 20th century

• Created 321 covers for The Saturday Evening Post

Figurative DrawingAn exercise in drawing the human body in its various shapes and positions. "Life drawing" is the process of drawing the human figure from observation of a live model.

First Major Breakthrough• In 1912 at age of 17• Children’s book illustration: Tell Me Why: Stories

About Mother Nature

Art Director• a person who directs or supervises the

work of other artists

• Rockwell’s first published magazine cover for Boy’s Life, September 1913 (age 18) got him the job as Art Director

The Saturday Evening Post

• First Cover: May 1916 at age 22 – Mother’s Day Off (an illustrators’ dream)

• Last Cover: December 14, 1963 – In Memoriam (tribute to John F. Kennedy)

Rockwell’s Aesthetic Objectives:

– Basic Human Interaction– Portrayal of Everyday

American life

The Problem We All Live With,Norman Rockwell, Oil on Canvas, Realism

Breaking Home Ties, Norman Rockwell, Oil on Canvas, Realism

Going and Coming, Norman Rockwell, Oil on Canvas, Realism

The Discovery, Norman Rockwell, Oil on Canvas, Realism