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Norman Rockwell's Willie Gillis Series
The Willie Gillis debut: Willie Gillis Food Package (1941-10-04)
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Willie Gillis is a fictional character created by Norman Rockwell for
a series of World War II paintings that appeared on the cover of The
Saturday Evening Post (henceforth Post). Gillis, who was a fictional
private, appeared on a total of eleven Post covers. Gillis was a
fictional everyman whose career was tracked on the cover of the Post
from induction through discharge without being depicted on the
battlefield. The Willie Gillis series of Saturday Evening Post covers
was a hallmark of Rockwell's wartime work. Robert Otis "Bob" Buck,
Rockwell's model, eventually enlisted for service in the United States
Navy. In Rockwell's prime and at the peak of its popularity, The
Saturday Evening Post had a subscribership of 4 million, and many of
these subscribers believed Gillis was a real person. Rockwell's
wartime art contributed to the success of the wartime bond sales
efforts.
Willie Gillis Home on Leave (1941-11-29)
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Background
From 1916 through his Kennedy Memorial cover on December 16, 1963,
Rockwell created 321 magazine covers for The Saturday Evening Post,
which was the most popular American magazine of the first half of the
20th century. Rockwell illustrated American life during World War I
and World War II in 34 of his cover illustrations, and he illustrated
33 Post covers during World War II. During much of the first half of
the 1940s, Rockwell's cover illustrations focused on the human side of
the war. Rockwell encouraged support of the war efforts during World
War II via his covers which endorsed war bonds, encouraged women to
work, and encouraged men to enlist in the service. His World War II
illustrations used themes of patriotism, longing, shifting gender
roles, reunion, love, work, community and family during wartime to
promote the war. In his role as a magazine illustrator during times of
war, Rockwell draws comparisons to Winslow Homer, an American Civil
War illustrator for Harper's Weekly. Rockwell's artistic expressions
were said to have led to the adoption of the goal of the Four Freedoms
in keeping with United States President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941
State of the Union Address.His painting series, the Four Freedoms,
toured in a war bond effort that raised $132 million.
Willie Gillis at the U.S.O. (1942-02-07)
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Rockwell created Willis Gillis in 1940 as the European Theatre of
World War II was escalating and Americans were enlisting or being
drafted under the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 in the
armed forces. Rockwell credits the name Willie Gillis to his wife, who
derived it from an old children's book, Wee Willie Winkie. Rockwell
described Gillis as "an inoffensive, ordinary little guy thrown into
the chaos of war."The public identified with Rockwell's portrayal of
the "little guy" living up to a sense of duty in this time of
war.Gillis was truly seen as the typic G.I., and Rockwell's wartime
art remains quite popular. Rockwell's signed original May 29, 1943
depiction of Rosie the Riveter sold at a Sotheby's auction on May 22,
2002 for $4,959,500. Some of the Willie Gillis paintings and the Rosie
the Riveter painting were raffled off during the United States
Department of the Treasury's Second War Loan Drive.
Willie Gillis on K.P. (1942-04-11)
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Post Illustrations
Rockwell met his model Buck at a square dance in Arlington, Vermont.
Rockwell had been seeking a model, and he kept observing Buck from
different angles during the dance. Buck noticed Rockwell's stares and
informed Rockwell that if he did not stop staring, Buck would knock
him flat.
Willie Gillis What To Do in a Blackout (1942-06-27)
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Willie Gillis in Church (1942-07-25)
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Buck had been exempted from the military draft, but he felt serving
his country was his patriotic duty and enlisted as a Naval aviator in
1943. Buck served in the South Seas during the war. Once Buck
enlisted, Rockwell worked from memory and photographs to complete his
illustrations, and sometimes he only worked Gillis into the background
via a photograph on the wall. Rockwell was going to discontinue the
series, but Post editors objected because his character was too
popular. Gillis was so popular that at one point, the Post was
receiving hundreds of letter inquiring about the tribulations of the
character who was perceived by many as real, and concern for the
private was particularly high among families named Gillis.
Double Trouble for Willie Gillis (1942-09-05)
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Although Buck had departed, the model who
portrayed Gillis' fictional girlfriend (fellow Post illustrator Mead
Schaeffer's daughter) remained available, so Rockwell painted her
faithfully sleeping at midnight on New Year's Eve with photos of
Willie Gillis in the background above her bed in Willie Gillis: New
Year's Eve. the subsequent 11 inches (280 mm) × 14 inches (360 mm)
Willie Gillis cover, Willie Gillis: Generations, depicting the Gillis
military family in pictures above a bookshelf of Gillis war books,
generated hundreds of letters from Gillises, many of whom wanted to
buy the imaginary books.
Willie Gillis Generations (1944-09-16)
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In Willie Gillis: Food Package Gillis' 1941 debut, he toted a care
package. Ten subsequent covers depicted Gillis in a variety of roles:
at church in uniform, holding his cover on his lap; soldier on K.P.
duty; the son carrying on the family tradition of military service; a
still life of Gillis' family photographs; and two fighting mad girls,
holding pictures of Gillis that he'd sent each of them from the war
zone. Rockwell created a good ending for the series by depicting
Gillis relaxing while studying at college on the G.I. Bill: "We know
that things ended well for Gillis, though; his final cover in 1946
showed the young man stretched in a windowsill smoking a pipe and
wearing penny loafers, studying at college.
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The Willie Gillis finale: Willie Gillis in College (1946-10-05)
To some, the fourth piece – Willie Gillis: Hometown News – was the one
that cemented Willie Gillis' place in American history, because
families identified with Gillis. The sixth piece, Willie Gillis in
Church, is the earliest of his works with significant religious
themes. This final component of the series, Willie Gillis in College,
engenders much critical review because it is perceived to represent a
transformation of character. It is a study in contrast of mood and
style from the wartime components of the series. Rockwell did produce
depictions of Gillis that were not on the cover. The painting Willie
Gillis in a Convoy was produced in 1943, depicting Gillis in the back
of a covered military vehicle with his rifle in hand.
Willie Gillis Series
The following are the eleven Willie Gillis Saturday Evening Post cover
paintings:
1. October 4, 1941 - Willie Gillis: Food Package/Willie Gillis:
Package From Home
2. November 29, 1941 - Willie Gillis: Home Sweet Home/Willie Gillis:
Home On Leave
3. February 7, 1942 - Willie Gillis: USO
4. April 11, 1942 - Willie Gillis: Hometown News/Willie Gillis: On K.P.
5. June 27, 1942 - Willie Gillis: What To Do in a Blackout
6. July 25, 1942 - Willie Gillis in Church
7. September 5, 1942 - Willie Gillis: Girls with Letters/Double
Trouble for Willie Gillis
8. June 26, 1943 - Willie Gillis: Cat's Cradle/Willie's Rope Trick
9. January 1, 1944 - Willie Gillis: New Year's Eve
10. September 16, 1944- Willie Gillis: Gillis Heritage/Willie Gillis
Generations
11. October 5, 1946 - Willie Gillis in College
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