ART SUNDAY - NORMAN ROCKWELL

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” - Benjamin Franklin

February 3rd is US illustrator and artist Norman Rockwell’s birthday (1894-1978). In commemoration of this, I am featuring his work and life on Art Sunday. His art was recognised and loved by almost everybody in US and in many other countries around the world. The cover of The Saturday Evening Post was his showcase for over forty years, giving him an audience larger than that of any other artist in history. Over the years he depicted there a unique collection of Americana, a series of vignettes of keen observation, warmth and humour. In addition, he painted a great number of pictures for story illustrations, advertising campaigns, posters, calendars, and books.

As his personal contribution during World War II, Rockwell painted in 1942 the famous "Four Freedoms" posters, symbolising for millions the war aims as described by President Franklin Roosevelt. "Freedom of Speech", “Freedom from Want”, “Freedom from Fear” and “Freedom of Worship” are the ideals he immortalised.

Rockwell left high school to attend classes at the National Academy of Design and later studied under Thomas Fogarty and George Bridgman at the Art Students League in New York. His early illustrations were done for St. Nicholas magazine and other juvenile publications. He sold his first cover painting to the “Post” in 1916 and ended up doing over 300 more. Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson sat for him for portraits, and he painted other world figures, including Nasser of Egypt and Nehru of India.

In 1957 the United States Chamber of Commerce in Washington cited him as a Great Living American, saying that… “Through the magic of your talent, the folks next door - their gentle sorrows, their modest joys - have enriched our own lives and given us new insight into our countrymen.”

The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts has established a large collection of his paintings, and has preserved Rockwell's last studio as well.