Books with title Norman Rockwell: A Life

Meet Artist Norman Rockwell!Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series combines a delightful mix of full-color historical reproductions, photos, and hilarious cartoon-style illustrations that bring to life the works of renowned artists, combining poignant anecdotes with important factual information for readers (Ages 8-9).This book presents the life and work of the twentieth-century artist Norman Rockwell, who painted familiar everyday scenes that people felt were part of their own lives.

Norman Rockwell’s tremendously successful, prolific career as a painter and illustrator has rendered him a twentieth-century American icon. However, the very popularity and accessibility of his idealized, nostalgic depictions of middleclass life have caused him to be considered not a serious artist but a “mere illustrator”–a disparagement only reinforced by the hundreds of memorable covers he drew for The Sunday Evening Post.Symptomatic of critics’ neglect is the fact that Rockwell has never before been the subject of a serious critical biography. Based on private family archives and interviews and publishes to coincide with a major two-year travelling retrospective of his work, this book reveals for the first time the driven workaholic who had three complicated marriages and was a distant father —so different from the loving, all-American-dad image widely held to this day. Critically acclaimed author Laura Claridge also breaks new ground with her reappraisal of Rockwell’s art, arguing that despite his popular sentimental style, his artistry was masterful, complex, and far more manipulative than people realize.

Norman Rockwell’s hundreds of memorable covers for The Saturday Evening Post made him a twentieth-century American icon. However, because of the very popularity of his idealized depictions of middle-class life, his more serious paintings have been largely ignored, and he has often been deemed a mere illustrator, not a “real” artist.In this, the first comprehensive biography of America’s most popular artist, Laura Claridge breaks new ground with her appreciative but clear-eyed view of Rockwell’s work—and his life. Based upon previously unpublished family archives and hundreds of interviews, this account reveals for the first time the deep disparity between the artist’s public image and his private life.

Norman Rockwell’s tremendously successful, prolific career as a painter and illustrator has rendered him a twentieth-century American icon. However, the very popularity and accessibility of his idealized, nostalgic depictions of middleclass life have caused him to be considered not a serious artist but a “mere illustrator”–a disparagement only reinforced by the hundreds of memorable covers he drew for The Sunday Evening Post.Symptomatic of critics’ neglect is the fact that Rockwell has never before been the subject of a serious critical biography. Based on private family archives and interviews and publishes to coincide with a major two-year travelling retrospective of his work, this book reveals for the first time the driven workaholic who had three complicated marriages and was a distant father —so different from the loving, all-American-dad image widely held to this day. Critically acclaimed author Laura Claridge also breaks new ground with her reappraisal of Rockwell’s art, arguing that despite his popular sentimental style, his artistry was masterful, complex, and far more manipulative than people realize.

American artist Norman Rockwell's paintings of everyday events and small-town life illustrated magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Boys' Life, McCall's, and Look. This biography highlights Rockwell's childhood, education at the Chase School of Art, National Academy of Design, Art Students League and in France, Boy Scout illustrations, work for Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and paintings of soldier Willie Gillis and the Four Freedoms during World War II, as well as his artistic process and family life. Sidebars, a glossary, an index, and a phonetics section accompany easy-to-read text and full-color reproductions of Rockwell's artwork, including Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit, Triple Self-Portrait, and The Gossips.