The Life of Norman Rockwell

triple self portrait by norman rockwell — Triple Self Portrait by Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell was born on February 3, 1894, in New York City. Norman transferred to the Chase Art School at the age of 14. He also attended the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League. While there he had some of his early work published in juvenile publications like Boys Scouts of America. 1912 held a breakthrough for Rockwell. He published his first book illustration. In 1913 when he was nineteen-years-old he became the art editor of Boys’ Life.He held the job for four years and painted several covers. His first cover was in the September 1913 edition.

“I Just Wanted to do Something Important.”

runaway by norman rockwell — Runaway by Norman Rockwell

When Norman was 21 he moved to New York and shared a studio with cartoonist Clyde Forsythe, who worked for Saturday Evening Post. With Forsythe’s help, he submitted his first successful cover painting to the Post in 1916 titled, Mother’s Day Off. Norman Rockwell published a total of 323 original covers for The Saturday Evening Post over 47 years. Rockwell’s success on the cover of the Post led to covers for other magazines such as The Literary Digest, The Country Gentleman, Leslie’s Weekly, Judge, Peoples Popular Monthly and Life Magazine.

His Duty

During World War I, he tried to enlist into the U.S. Navy but was refused entry because, he was under weight. To compensate, he spent one night gorging himself on bananas, liquids and doughnuts, and weighed enough to enlist the next day. However, he was given the role of a military artist and did not see any action during his tour of duty. In 1943, during World War II, Rockwell painted the Four Freedoms series, which was completed in seven months. The series was inspired by a speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt, in which he described four principles for universal rights: Freedom from Want, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, and Freedom from Fear.

The End of a Legacy

Rockwell’s last painting for the Post was published in 1963, marking the end of a publishing relationship that had included 321 cover paintings. He spent the next ten years painting for Look magazine, where his work depicted his interests in civil rights, poverty and space exploration. During his long career, he was commissioned to paint the portraits for Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, as well as those of foreign figures, including Gamal Abdel Nasser and Jawaharlal Nehru. One of his last works was a portrait of Judy Garland in 1969. When he began suffering poor health, he placed his studio and the contents with the Norman Rockwell Museum. Rockwell received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States of America’s highest civilian honor, in 1977. Rockwell died November 8, 1978, of emphysema at age 84 in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. First Lady Rosalynn Carter attended his funeral.

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