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| Norman Rockwell Illustration From Red Cross Magazine (1918) |
Norman Rockwell was a prolific American artist who was born on February 3, 1894. He is most famous for his numerous cover illustrations for magazines including The Saturday Evening Post, Boy's Life, Literary Digest, Leslie's Weekly, The Country Gentleman, Life and Look. His work included illustrations for books, posters and advertisements, and usually featured sweet and wholesome scenes of children, families, and daily life. Although he was not considered a serious artist by many critics, due to his idealized and sentimentalized portrayal of American life, his work was and remains extremely popular. Prints of his illustrations still decorate many homes, offices and public places, and his name is widely recognized.
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| Norman Rockwell (1921) (Courtesy of Library of Congress) |
In later years, he began to paint more serious subjects, focusing on issues close to his heart, including human rights, racism and poverty. He painted posters to raise money for war bonds and for charitable causes, and he was commissioned to paint portraits of famous figures including U.S Presidents and other world leaders.
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| Poster 1940-Courtesy of Library of Congress |
His famous Four Freedoms series was painted in 1943, during WWII, which illustrated the four human rights which President Franklin Roosevelt identified in his 1941 State of the Union Address as essential human rights that needed to be protected: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear. These images are not in the public domain, and so are not pictured here. For more information and to view these pictures, please click on the following link:
The Problem We All Live With is an iconic 1964 painting that depicts a young African American girl during the process of racial desegregation in the south. On her way to her previously all-white school, she is being escorted by deputy U.S marshals due to threats of violence. To view this painting and for more information, please click on the following link:
Below are some beautiful examples of Norman Rockwell's early work from magazine covers of the 1910s and 1920s.
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