(1894-1978)

High Adventure, 1957

• As a child, Norman sketched characters while his father read aloud to him.

• He began studying art in high school.

• His first real job was illustrating children’s books.

• Soon after, he began his work for the boy scouts.

No SwimmingThe Saturday Evening Post,

June 4, 1921 (cover)Oil on canvas

25 1/4 x 22 1/4 in.

• In 1916, Rockwell sold his first of 321 covers to “The Saturday Evening Post.”

• His covers made a very prestigious magazine even more popular.

• Norman Rockwell’s paintings tell stories.

• What do you think is happening in this painting?

• Which details in the painting help to tell the story?

• Who do you think this girl is?

• What do you think she is reading about?

Freedom of SpeechThe Saturday Evening Post,

February 20, 1943 (story illustration)Oil on canvas

45 3/4 x 35 1/2 in.

• During WWII, he painted the “Four Freedoms.”

• They were published with essays by American writers.

Freedom from FearThe Saturday Evening Post,

March 13, 1943 (story illustration)Oil on canvas

45 3/4 x 35 1/2 in.

• The paintings symbolized the aims of the war.

• A touring exhibition of the works raised $139.9 million for the war effort through the sale of war bonds.

• Which freedom to you think this painting illustrates?

• What makes you say that?

Freedom from WantThe Saturday Evening Post, March 6, 1943 (story illustration)Oil on canvas45 3/4 x 35 1/2 in.

“Rockwell painted the American dream – better than anyone.”

-Steven Spielberg

Girl at the Mirror, 1954

• What is happening in this painting?

• How is it similar to the other painting of a girl with a magazine painted 13 years earlier, before the war?

• How is it different?

Going and Coming, 1947, Oil on canvas, Painting

for The Saturday Evening Post cover, August 30,

1947Norman Rockwell Art

Collection Trust

• This painting shows two scenes: going and coming.

• What do you think happened in between these two paintings?

• In his later years the pictures he drew were about national events such as the civil rights movement, and fewer were about the humorous side of life.

• This is an illustration of the Golden Rule.

The ConnoisseurThe Saturday Evening Post,

January 13, 1962 (cover)Oil on canvas mounted on board

37 3/4 x 31 1/2 in.

• During his lifetime, most art critics considered Norman Rockwell to be only an illustrator, not a painter of fine art.

• What do you think?