Norman Rockwell Exhibit

Posted November 19, 2009

IF OUR COUNTRY had an unofficial artist-in-residence during much of the 20^th century, Norman Rockwell most certainly would have been it. Over the course of six decades, he created more than 300 iconic Saturday Evening Post covers, as well as numerous drawings for Boy’s Life, Literary Digest, and Look magazines. Through his work, Rockwell shared his gift for capturing everyday moments of American life with an observant eye for detail and a keen sense of humor. Indeed, his true talent was in elevating the fleeting—and sometimes at first glance, common—events and rites of passage into permanent snapshots in time. For Rockwell was not only a master of illustration, he was also a master at telling a story through his “pictures,” as he always liked to refer to them.

Perhaps a sign of our times, two different exhibitions of Rockwell’s work have been drawing crowds as they visit museums around the country. The Smithsonian is planning a second exhibition of his work in 2010. Forty-two of his illustrations, as well as the complete set of covers from the Saturday Evening Post, are currently on view through February 7, 2010, at the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale (www.moafl.org) in an exhibition titled American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell, from the permanent collection of the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

The exhibition will transport visitors back to a seemingly simpler time, even though, as Rockwell wrote in his memoir, My Adventures as an Illustrator, “Maybe as I grew up and found that the world wasn’t the perfectly pleasant place I had thought it to be, I unconsciously decided that, even if it wasn’t an ideal world, it should be and so painted only the ideal aspects of it . . .” A number of the images showcased are forever imprinted upon our collective memory, and yet still they delight, intrigue, and deserve closer inspection, just like the budding artist demonstrates as he leans in to scrutinize a portrait in Rockwell’s painting, The Art Critic, a work included in the show.

This and other illustrations will be instantly familiar to many viewers, as will the experiences and emotions represented within them. A number of us have visited a pediatrician’s office only to find a reproduction of Rockwell’s comforting Doctor and Doll, depicting an elderly physician carefully examining the favorite toy of an earnest and trusting young girl. And what woman, now grown, doesn’t identify with the pubescent longing for perfect beauty as represented in Girl at Mirror, where the subject gazes intently at her reflection, as she compares herself to a magazine photograph of Jane Russell, the very essence of ’50s glamour.

Rockwell’s pictures so often showcased the innocence of youth—and at times the mischievous side—as in No Swimming, where wide-eyed, ruddy-cheeked boys appear to have just emerged from the water, and having swiftly scooped up their clothes and with dog in tow, race away from an unseen participant. Rockwell’s inclusion of the “No Swimming” sign lets viewers in on the joke, and one can almost hear the pounding of the boys’ heartbeats as they scramble to avoid impending trouble.

One of America’s most prolific artists, Norman Rockwell’s paintings tended to be dismissed by the serious art critics of his day. Oftentimes, his work was described as idealistic and pure sentimentality. Toward the end of his life, Rockwell began to get more serious recognition by the critics. And 21 years after his death in 1978, The New Yorker art critic Peter Schjeldahl said of Rockwell in ArtNews: “Rockwell is terrific. It’s become too tedious to pretend he isn’t.”

The detail and labor that went into his work is revealed in a new book by Ron Schick, Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera. Rockwell conducted elaborate photoshoots to get every detail exactly right before beginning his illustrations. More than 18,000 of his extraordinary black and white photos are archived at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts.

Painting through times of war, economic hardship, the threat of nuclear holocaust, and racial divides, Rockwell chose to carefully study and then reflect the very best of the character of the American people. He chose to look with a very keen eye, to see and to show us the good. Far from just superficial illustrations, his paintings continue to intrigue us because they reflect relationships, emotions, and the connections among his subjects. As we deal with our own dose of reality—economic recession, reality shows, and Ponzi schemes—his ability to look deeply and see the best is worth noting for us all.

As David Kamp states in “Norman Rockwell’s American Dream,” (Vanity Fair, November 2009), “…it’s simply not true that the America of Norman Rockwell’s pictures is mythical. The visions of tolerance, fortitude, and decency in Saying Grace, The Problem We All Live With, and Marine Homecoming may not be scenes of everyday, but nor are they the stuff of fantasy… What these scenes show us are Americans at their best—the better versions of our usual selves that, while only ever fleetingly realized, are nonetheless real.”

As Rockwell once said about his work, “Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed.”

No doubt, exhibition visitors will more than take notice and find pleasure in reliving the memories that the artist’s renderings stir within us, as well as appreciate the incredible talent of a man who showed us ordinary life—and in doing so, showed us something quite extraordinary.

Exhibition information: Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale, One East Las Olas Blvd. Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
phone: 954/525-5500 www.moafl.org

comments (3)

My grandmother loved Rockwell's prints and I first learned to enjoy and appreciate them through her eyes along with our conversations about her own path through life. These memories are some of the sweetest of my childhood.

Cynthia L. Alver

My grandparents were also fans of Rockwell and had prints hanging in their dining room. My Thanksgiving memories with them include staring at his artwork. The Christmas card I sent them this year- Rockwell. His artwork reminds me of my own good memories, of the simple get togethers and times spent with friends and family.

Kellyann German

The feelings of home and family that his art gives has given me a standard in my life. There is a Norman Rockwell in 3 of my rooms in my homes. I have 3 of his books. All given to me by "family." I hope the exhibit comes to Austin Tx. He was the one who I wanted to meet.

Sandra Miller