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Norman Rockwell. 1894 - 1978. Every picture tells a story…. New York.
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Norman Rockwell 1894 - 1978 Every picture tells a story…
New York Norman Rockwell was born in New York City in 1894. For more than 60 years he painted familiar, everyday scenes that people felt were part of their own lives. By the time he died in 1978, Norman had become one of America’s all-time favorite artists. “Freedom From Fear”
Illustrator Norman’s most famous pictures are illustrations he made for books, ads, and especially magazine covers.
Every picture tells a story… Illustrations are pictures that help tell a story.
Usually, book publishers or advertising agencies ask artists to do illustrations, and then pay them for their work. “Freedom of Speech”
Art Critics During Norman’s time, important art critics didn’t take illustrators seriously or consider their work to be fine art.
Art Critics This snobby attitude always disappointed Norman. He felt that great illustrations were every bit as important as great museum paintings.
Early Works Some of the first drawings Norman remembered making were scenes from books by Charles Dickens. On cold winter nights when Norman was 4 or 5 years old, his father would read to the family around the dining room table. “Freedom From Want”
Growing Up Norman grew up in a pretty rough and tough neighborhood. He was lucky to be able to draw. It was about the only thing he was good at. “New Kids in the Neighborhood”
To make matters worse, his older brother was the best athlete in the neighborhood. Without art, Norman felt kids would have just thought of him as a “skinny, pigeon-toed, narrow-shouldered lump.
Destined to Draw Norman knew he wanted to be an artist for as long as he could remember. When he was 16, he decided to leave high school and study art seriously. Norman went to several art schools in NYC, including the Art Students’ League, started by one of his favorite art heroes, Howard Pyle. The Tatooist
Norman thought Howard Pyle was one of the greatest illustrators ever. He loved the detail Pyle used in his works. Howard’s drawings seemed so real, they give you the feeling that Howard might have been right there during the adventure with pirates or King Arthur and his knights.
Norman admired other illustrators like Frederic Remington and J.C. Leyendecker. These artists worked during a time in history known as the Golden Age of Illustration. They had a way of bringing the characters in a story to life and making you feel like part of the adventure. Norman dreamed of being able to do the same thing one day.
The Masters Norman also enjoyed the work of great master artists from the past. NYC had plenty of museums where Norman could go to see paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Bruegel. It’s easy to see the effect these great artists had on some of Norman’s paintings.
Norman was also influenced by his memories of family summer trips. Each year the Rockwells spent a few weeks in the country.
Norman loved spending time in the fresh, clean air. He especially enjoyed the people he met.
Norman was much happier there than in the overcrowded, dirty and unfriendly city. Early on, Norman Rockwell decided his artwork would show life only as he would like it to be.
The teachers at the art school liked Norman and they helped him get his first big job – doing illustrations for a children’s book called Tell Me Why Stories. Norman rented a studio with the money he made.
Norman did such a good job he got more jobs right away. The editor of Boy’s Life magazine asked him to do some drawings for a camping handbook. The editor liked the illustrations so much that he offered Norman a job as art director. At the age of 19, Norman Rockwell had the important job of making illustrations and deciding how the entire magazine should look.
Big Dreams Norman’s dream of becoming a top illustrator was coming true. But his biggest dream was to illustrate a cover for the Saturday Evening Post, the most important magazine in the US at that time. Only the best artists were asked to illustrate Post covers…and he was almost afraid to even try.
Fortunately, Norman shared a studio with an artist friend who encouraged him to show his work to the Post magazine people. After months of putting it off, Norman finally gathered up his courage and a few illustrations and went to the magazine office. He thought he’d never sell his work, and was so nervous he was soaked in sweat. But the Post loved Norman’s work!
A Dream Come True Norman’s first Post cover showed two boys making fun of a third boy who has been forced to babysit and can’t play. Norman ended up doing more than 300 covers for the Saturday Evening Post.
Most of Norman’s illustrations show his sense of humor and love of people.
One thing that makes Norman Rockwell’s illustrations so wonderful is the way they tell a story without words.
Norman had a way of designing his pictures so that everything he shows draws your attention to the main idea.
Details Norman was very careful to make sure all the details in his illustrations were as authentic as possible. Norman filled his paintings with tons of familiar objects. It’s fun to look at his pictures again and again to see if you missed anything.
Norman Rockwell could draw people and objects as well as any great artist. He used his special talent, along with an original sense of humor, to show people all over the world were really pretty good.
What a Wonderful World By Louis Armstrong I see trees of green…
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