Norman Rockwell’s America

Rethinking Norman Rockwell

Often when some think of Norman Rockwell they picture illustration of an idealized America and sentimentality. Certainly, some of Rockwell’s work is like this; however, some provides deeper insights into American life and Americans, especially during and after World War II. Christopher Finch, in this really very nice volume first published in the Seventies when Rockwell was living, and by the Reader’s Digest, the very epitome of Americana, focuses on Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post magazine covers from his first for the October 27, 1917, issue to his last on the December 14, 1963, issue (a portrait of John F. Kennedy, recently assassinated).

The large format book provides a broad perspective on show more Rockwell’s work, concentrating on his Post illustrations, with Finch to not only analyzing various and many of Rockwell’s best known pictures but also tracing and highlighting how Rockwell’s art changed over the years, from idealistic and romantic to more realistic and naturalistic. It’s an enlightening journey, particularly for those who have a one-dimensional view of Rockwell, and perhaps negative at that. Whatever your impressions of Rockwell, after reading and perusing this volume you will gain a new, maybe better, impression of the man, and with this another way of looking at America in the 20th century.

Finch organizes Rockwell’s cover art into these categories: Growing Up in America; Young Love; Home and Family; Growing Old in America; The American Past in Fact and Fiction; Democracy; Americans in Uniform; Americans at Work; The Sporting Life; An American Portrait Gallery; and Christmas. You’ll find the collection contains illustrations you’ve probably seen over the years, here presented in many color plates of decent quality, accompanied by Finch commentary. The back of the book contains small reproductions of every Post cover illustrated by Rockwell from first to last.

For a different and sometimes controversial perspective on Rockwell, the man and his work, you might also find Deborah Solomon’s American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell of interest. In addition to Rockwell’s work, Solomon probes much more deeply into Rockwell’s psyche, including his sexuality, and how it may have influenced his work. show less

Rethinking Norman Rockwell

Often when some think of Norman Rockwell they picture illustration of an idealized America and sentimentality. Certainly, some of Rockwell’s work is like this; however, some provides deeper insights into American life and Americans, especially during and after World War II. Christopher Finch, in this really very nice volume first published in the Seventies when Rockwell was living, and by the Reader’s Digest, the very epitome of Americana, focuses on Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post magazine covers from his first for the October 27, 1917, issue to his last on the December 14, 1963, issue (a portrait of John F. Kennedy, recently assassinated).

The large format book provides a broad perspective on show more Rockwell’s work, concentrating on his Post illustrations, with Finch to not only analyzing various and many of Rockwell’s best known pictures but also tracing and highlighting how Rockwell’s art changed over the years, from idealistic and romantic to more realistic and naturalistic. It’s an enlightening journey, particularly for those who have a one-dimensional view of Rockwell, and perhaps negative at that. Whatever your impressions of Rockwell, after reading and perusing this volume you will gain a new, maybe better, impression of the man, and with this another way of looking at America in the 20th century.

Finch organizes Rockwell’s cover art into these categories: Growing Up in America; Young Love; Home and Family; Growing Old in America; The American Past in Fact and Fiction; Democracy; Americans in Uniform; Americans at Work; The Sporting Life; An American Portrait Gallery; and Christmas. You’ll find the collection contains illustrations you’ve probably seen over the years, here presented in many color plates of decent quality, accompanied by Finch commentary. The back of the book contains small reproductions of every Post cover illustrated by Rockwell from first to last.

For a different and sometimes controversial perspective on Rockwell, the man and his work, you might also find Deborah Solomon’s American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell of interest. In addition to Rockwell’s work, Solomon probes much more deeply into Rockwell’s psyche, including his sexuality, and how it may have influenced his work. show less

The reproductions are good but the text is trite. Why does the author feel the need to apologize for some of Rockwell's less successful pieces?

Titled America, Rockwell dedicated this publication of 314 of his works which best typified his vision of American. All illustrations are in four-foot print.

High quality and comprehensive reproduction of 659 works by one of the great naturalist painters and preeminent Saturday Evening Post and Boy's Life illustrators.

Norman Rockwell still inspires me to this day. There was a recent exhibition at Union Station in Kansas City that I went to and had the chance to see some of his originals.