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Ignore for a moment the troubles described in the news of the day. We sometimes forget the reasons for which we fight the good fight. A little taste of Americana can help us give pause and appreciate that which warms the heart. One of the most prolific artists to demonstrate aspects of American life was Norman Rockwell. The thought provoking and indelible images produced by Rockwell serve as a visual record that define a place and time in our country’s past. For those old enough to remember the Saturday Evening Post and other Rockwell venues like Boy’s Life the images are a welcome trip down memory lane.

Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was a 20th century American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States, where Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over more than four decades

Rockwell was involved in many projects and not all were light-hearted enterprise. The mindset of public service was not lost on the artist as he acted on the sense of duty in time of war as described in the brief excerpt below.

During the First World War, he tried to enlist into the U.S. Navy but was refused entry because, at 6 feet (1.83 m) tall and 140 pounds (64 kg), he was eight pounds underweight. To compensate, he spent one night gorging himself on bananas, liquids and donuts, 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.

Images presented below provide a glimpse into the story that is Norman Rockwell. His contributions in many ways are immense. Feel free to suggest other similar examples of Americana, a topic which we could all review with more frequency.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

(a photographic portrait of Rockwell)

(Rockwell later in life)

A Red Cross Man in the Making by Norman Rockwell (1894–1978), his first en:Boy Scouts of America calendar in 1925, originally published in 1918 in The Red Cross Magazine. Retitled A Good Scout when re-used in the 1925 calendar.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 3rd, 2009 at 6:10 am and is filed under America. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.