Norman Rockwell Art Prints
By Donovan Gauvreau
Norman Rockwell is revered as one of the great American artists of
the 20th century. His distinctive style and unique choice of
subjects were appreciated in his day as well as decades after his
death. By 1916, he had created his first of many Saturday Evening
Post covers - three hundred and seventeen in all. By the early
1920s, his work for magazines was growing in popularity and bringing
in numerous requests. In 1920, he made a painting for the Boy Scouts
of America calendar, a project he supported until just before his
death. Today, Norman Rockwell art prints are in high demand.
Life in Arlington
Rockwell lived in Arlington from 1939 to 1953, one of the most
important and acclaimed periods in his career. It was an era of
rapid post-war growth and significant world change; Norman Rockwell
art prints reassured the nation that cherished small-town values
would not disappear. During those 14 years, he produced some of his
most famous paintings, including, Saying Grace, The Gossips,
Christmas Homecoming, Girl at Mirror, the Four Freedoms, Breaking
Home Ties, and Rosie the Riveter.
Four Freedoms Series
In 1942, Rockwell painted one his most overtly political and
important pieces. In response to a speech given by President
Franklin Roosevelt, the artist created a series entitled the Four
Freedoms. Throughout the mid-1940s, these paintings traveled around
the country in an effort to help raise funds for the war through the
sale of bonds. Viewed by more than a million people, their
popularity was considered a representation of the war effort at
home. During the late 1940s and 1950s, Rockwell maintained his
reputation as one of the most prolific and recognized illustrators
in the country.
Breaking Home Ties
Rockwell painted Breaking Home Ties for the September 25, 1954 cover
of the Saturday Evening Post. It depicts a boy from a ranch in New
Mexico who is about to leave home for the first time. His youthful
optimism is contrasted with the serious look of his father as they
sit on the running board of an old truck. Though the two figures are
not looking at each other, the sense of family ties is very powerful
in the iconic 1954 picture. It is one of Rockwell's most popular and
most often reproduced images, and is considered by Rockwell experts
to be one of his masterworks. Breaking Home Ties has been included
in a number of national and international exhibitions since 1955.
For the first time in decades, the painting was put on view in 2003
at the Norman Rockwell Museum.
Rosie the Riveter
In 1942, a popular song about a patriotic female defense worker
called Rosie the Riveter served as the inspiration for a new kind of
American woman. Norman Rockwell painted Rosie the Riveter for the
May 29, 1943, cover of The Saturday Evening Post. Rosie the Riveter
represents the six million women who worked in the manufacturing
plants that produced munitions and material during World War II
while the men were off fighting the war. The painting was originally
meant to represent strong American support for the war. Like the
Four Freedoms, Rockwell's Rosie the Riveter was taken on a
nationwide tour to promote the sale of war bonds during the World
War II to help raise funds to support the war effort.
Norman Rockwell art prints have become
American cultural icons. They represent simplicity embedded with
complex meanings and metaphors. Rockwell was a visionary, an artist
well-ahead of his time. He redefined art with his unique techniques,
and managed to maintain traditional American values while being
innovative.
