Artist Profile

Norman Percevel Rockwell 1894 – 1978

Norman Percevel Rockwell was born in New York City in 1894, and it would be hard to find a single person who has not seen one of this charismatic artist’s paintings.  His credentials are most impressive as are the sheer numbers of works completed during his career.

It is unusual that a young man decide his career early in life and stick to it, but that is exactly what Rockwell did.  He was always sure he would be an artist.  At age 14, he enrolled in art classes at The New York School of Art.  Two years later, he left high school to enroll and study at The National Academy of Design.  He soon transferred to The Art Student’s League where he concentrated on illustration.  It was here that Rockwell learned the technical skills that would be with him for the rest of his career.

Before he was 16 Rockwell had already painted a commission.  He was hired as Art Director of Boys’ Life, the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America, while still a teenager.  At 21, Rockwell’s family moved to New Rochelle, NY, a community full of famous illustrators.  Here he joined the studio of cartoonist Clyde Forsythe and produced work for publications like Life, Literary Digest and Country Gentleman.  At age 22, Rockwell painted the first cover for The Saturday Evening Post, where he was considered to be the illustrator of America.  Three hundred twenty-one covers over 47 years is testimony to his skill and popularity.  This is the same year (1916) that Rockwell married Irene O’Connor, but they were divorced in 1930.

That year, 1930, started what is considered to be the most important years of Rockwell’s career.  It began when he married Mary Barstow, a schoolteacher, with whom he had 3 sons.  In 1939, the family moved to Arlington, VT, and Rockwell’s work began more to reflect rural America and the scenes with which we are all familiar. 

Although very successful, tragedy struck in 1943 when Rockwell’s studio, many paintings and his collection of historical costumes and props were destroyed by fire.  In 1953 the family left Arlington and moved to Stockbridge, MA.  Six years later, Mary died unexpectedly.  The next year, in collaboration with one of his sons, Rockwell published his autobiography, My Adventures as an Illustrator. 

In 1961, Rockwell married Molly Punderson, a retired teacher.  Two years later he left his affiliation with The Saturday Evening Post and began work with Look magazine.  During this time Rockwell became very concerned with civil rights, America’s war on poverty and space exploration.  Much of the work he did for Look echoed these concerns.

During his career, Rockwell was commissioned to paint the portraits for Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.  One of his last works was a portrait of Judy Garland, done in 1969.

In 1973, Rockwell created a trust to preserve and protect the artistic legacy he had created.  He gave the Old Corner House Stockbridge Historical Society full custodianship of his collection of 574 original paintings and drawings. In 1976 his entire working studio and its contents were added to the trust. This later became the Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge at a dedication ceremony on the 100^th anniversary of his birth in 1994.

In 1977 Norman Rockwell was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor, by President Gerald Ford for his “vivid and affectionate portraits of our country.”  He died on November 8, 1978, at age 84 in Stockbridge.

Visit the Normal Rockwell Museum, open year round (Phone 413.298.4100)—and, while there, think about the positive impact this man had on the world.

Opening at the museum on Feb. 7 through May 25, Artists in Their Studios offers a unique glimpse at the lives and studio spaces of more than 75 important American artists from the late 19^th century to today and features rarely seen photos and primary source materials from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art.  Also, American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell opens at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Mar. 8 - May 31 and traces the evolution of Rockwell’s art and iconography throughout his career with 42 original artworks and a complete set of 323 archival Saturday Evening Post cover tear sheets that span 47 years.  Travels to Fort Lauderdale, Wichita, Raleigh, Tacoma, and Sacramento.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 19 No. 4 — February 2009