Where is Norman Rockwell from?

Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell (Norman Rockwell, February 3, 1894 - November 8, 1978) was an American politician in the early 20th century. An important painter and illustrator, his works span the fields of commercial propaganda and patriotic propaganda. Most of his paintings throughout his life were published by the "Saturday Evening Post". Among them, the most famous series of works appeared in the 1940s and 1950s, such as "Four Freedoms" and "Women Riveters".

Chinese name: Norman Rockwell

Foreign name: Norman Rockwell

Nationality: United States of America

Date of birth: 1894 February 3

Date of death: November 8, 1978

Occupation: Painter

Graduation school: National Academy of Design, Art Students League of New York< /p>

Main achievements: Important American painters and illustrators of the early 20th century

Representative works: The Four Freedoms, The Female Riveter, Three Self-Portraits

Constellation: Aquarius Block

Character Profile

Norman Rockwell became an illustrator from the age of 16 until he was 82 years old. The most popular artist of the century."

Rockwell’s works record the development and changes of the United States in the twentieth century: from the barefoot boy in the hot summer to the astronauts setting foot on the moon; from lazy small town storefronts to skyscrapers Office; from colorful fairy tale books to shining TV screens, his works not only cover the two world wars, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as the economic depression and racial issues in the United States, but also include all previous generations from Kennedy to Carter. Presidents, movie stars, and Boy Scouts.

However, Rockwell’s favorite theme is the innocent and innocent child. "I don't know how many children I have drawn. I guess there are probably thousands! But I still enjoy it," he said.

Biography

1894 to 1942

Norman was born in New York City. At the age of 16, when he was in high school, he transferred to Chase Art School. And entered the National Academy of Design, and then transferred to the New York Art Students League to be taught by Thomas Fogarty and Geroge Bridgeman.

In his early days, he did commercial paintings for St. Nicholas Magazine; as well as a long-term illustration for the Boy Scouts of America's publication "A Day in the Life of a Scout", as well as other youth publications.

His first important job was in 1912, when he was the illustrator of the book "Tell Me Why: Stories about Mother Nature" by writer C.H. Claudy. This was also his first book illustration job.

During World War I, Norman joined the U.S. Navy. At first, the military doctors refused to join the army because he was underweight (he was 8 pounds short of the standard weight). Later, he spent one night After eating bananas, donuts and a lot of drinks, he finally gained weight. However, the job he was assigned in the navy was that of a military painter, which had nothing to do with physical labor.

At the age of 21, Norman moved to New Rochelle, New York, and started to have his own studio (shared with Clyde Forsythe, a cartoonist). His roommate happened to be working on a cartoon for the week. He worked for the Six Evening News and was introduced to Norman. In 1916, he began to draw the cover of the Saturday Evening News.

May 20, 1916, was the date when his first work "Boy with Baby Carriage" was published. In the same year, he married Irene O'Connor and gave birth to three children, Jarvis, Thomas and Peter. In 1930, he divorced Irene and soon Married primary school teacher Mary Barstow.

In 1939, Norman moved his family to Arlington, Vermont. Life stabilized, and he painted many of the themes of small-town American life, using the town of Arlington as a source of inspiration.

1943 to 1963

During World War II, Norman completed the "Four Freedoms" series of paintings in seven months and lost 15 pounds. , this series of paintings is based on US President Roosevelt's speech on global human rights: "Man has four freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear." The paintings were painted by Zhou Enlai in 1943. Six Evening News published it, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury subsequently held a traveling exhibition of the original paintings in 16 cities to promote U.S. War Bonds. In the same year, a fire broke out in Norman's studio, resulting in the loss of many paintings and property.

In 1953, Norman's wife Mary died suddenly. Norman stopped painting because he was too sad and began to write his biography with his son Thomas. This book was published in 1960 and was included in the Saturday Evening Post. It was launched in a series of 8 selected volumes. The cover of the first volume used Norman's well-known Triple Self Portrait picture.

In 1961, Norman remarried, and his third wife was retired elementary school teacher Molly Punderson.

In 1963, he officially resigned from his job at the Saturday Evening Post (he drew a total of 321 Saturday Evening Post covers).

1964 to 1978

Beginning in 1964, he began to paint freely for Look magazine on topics such as civil rights, poverty, and space exploration. He also began to paint portraits of famous people, such as US President Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and other world-famous people such as Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Norman has long been popular with advertising agencies because his paintings have a direct point of view and are full of interesting details. He has illustrated forty books including the famous novel "The Adventures of Tom", and regularly provided illustrations for the Boy Scouts of America's annual calendar (1925 to 1976). Among them, the most famous "Four Seasons" painting was published by the publisher Brown & Bigelow It was sold in various forms of souvenirs, such as bookmarks, catalogs, posters, stamps, playing cards and real-life dolls for 17 years (starting in 1947). It was not until Norman's later years that he began to create paintings with more serious themes (such as race and human rights, etc.), and then gradually broke away from the title of commercial illustrator.

Currently, 574 of Norman's original paintings are kept in Staffbridge, Massachusetts, USA. The Norman Rockwell Museum was established in 1969. His studio also opens from May to October every year. Open to the public during the month.

In 1977, Norman received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor for an American citizen, in the name of "remarkable depiction of national character."

He passed away the next year at the age of 84.

Painting Comments

Norman was a very prolific painter, although he lost most of his original paintings before 1943 due to a fire in his studio. Norman is printed today Old magazines with paintings can fetch hundreds of dollars apiece at auction.

Most of Norman's paintings are a bit too sweet and optimistic, especially the paintings for the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, which further deepen the impression of the "ideal American world". Therefore, in the eyes of many contemporary artists, Norman's paintings are seen as artificial and only superficially material.

In many art reviews, Norman is only called an illustrator, not an artist or a painter. Although Norman doesn't take this seriously and prefers to call himself an illustrator, some of Norman's paintings are truly deeply rooted in people's hearts and powerfully move the viewer's mind, such as "The Problem of Our Vision" (The Problem We All Live With) takes the abolition of racial discrimination as the main theme. It depicts a little African-American girl being protected by white federal police officers as she goes to school, passing a graffiti with racially discriminatory slogans and smashed tomatoes. This work may not be suitable for a magazine cover, but it is one of Norman's most classic works today.

Norman recorded the transformation of traditional American values ??throughout the 1900s with delicate brushes, making him a very special American painter, which is why he still has many fans today. reason.

Main paintings

No Swimming (1921), a painting that Norman later painted in his interesting old age.

"The Four Freedoms" (1943)

"Going and Coming" (1947)

"The Second Half of Six Innings" ( Bottom of the Sixth; 1949)

"Girlat Mirror" (1954)

"The Marriage License" (1955)

"Three People" "Self-Portrait" (Triple Self-Portrait; 1960)

"Golden Rule" (Golden Rule; 1961)

"The Problem We All Live With; 1964"< /p>

"New Kids in the Neighborhood" (1967)

Appreciation of masterpieces

Self-portraits of three people

In this work Among them, Rockwell has unique ideas. This work was created in 1960.

What he painted was himself facing a mirror, but he didn’t really paint himself in the mirror on the drawing board strictly. In fact, Rockwell on the drawing board He was not wearing glasses, but his eyes were hidden behind them in the mirror. If you look carefully, you can also notice that there are actually not just three Rockwells on it, but also several sketches he drew in the upper left corner, totaling nine in total. Painters have been painting self-portraits since ancient times. In this work, Rockwell also cleverly embedded self-portraits of other painters into the painting.

For example, the first small picture in the upper right corner is a self-portrait of Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) when he was 26 years old. Another is the second of many self-portraits taken by Vincent Van Gogh when he was 36 years old. The third picture is obviously a work by Pablo Picasso. I have never seen this painting (Woman & Self Portrait) before, but at first glance it is by Picasso, but the color is different from the original work. The fourth painting should be Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn's 1652 work (Standing Self-Portrait). Although it is not very similar, due to Rembrandt's status in self-portrait (Self-portrait), I am definitely his work. If you add these up, then one *** should be counted as thirteen.

"Self-Portrait of Three People" is one of his masterpieces. It shows the author's humor, which runs through the artist's entire life. Issuing this stamp 15 years after his death to commemorate the centenary of his birth gives our younger generation, especially the new generation of immigrants, an opportunity to get to know this outstanding painter of the last century.

"Gossip"

The gestation period of "Gossip" lasted 13 years. Rockwell was fascinated by the subject, which he had painted before. The 1948 version began with just two gossips, then increased to 10, and eventually developed into a painting of 15 different figures. A vivid painting composed of people who, according to Rockwell, were his neighbors in Arlington. He included himself and his wife, Mary, to avoid suspicion that he was insulting his neighbors, but some people were still very angry. He himself is the subject of the conversation, and in the lower right corner of the work he confronts the originator of these rumors.

Norman Rockwell has lived in this town for 25 years and knows it well. This town is in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. In the picture, there is a public library. , antique shops, gift shops, insurance companies, Greek-style supermarkets, barber shops, old town meeting offices, new town banks, cluttered Victorian-style hotels, and in the right corner is Rockwell's residence and studio on South Street. Two years after the painting was completed, the "Old Corner" on the left side of the frame was transformed into the Norman Rockwell Museum.

"A Day in the Life of a Little Girl"

"A Day in the Life of a Little Girl" is a real-life portrayal of a typical American girl, telling a complete story because many readers are very familiar with it. like. "A Little Girl's Day" is a companion piece to "A Little Boy's Day", which was published in the "Saturday Evening Post". Rockwell's illustrations for the "Saturday Evening Post" were sought after by many people because of the response. the essence of American culture.

Happy Family

In Norman Rockwell's writings, the American family is a touching little theater and a source of love and compassion. Norman Rockwell's realistic brushwork is like that of the nineteenth-century French painter Millet. Miller used exquisite colors to depict women gleaning ears and farmers listening to the evening bell. Rockaway's painting skills are almost as realistic as photography, and American families have become immortal in his paintings.

Welcoming the new year, the future is full of hardships. Home, Sweet Home. A warm home is always the most touching healing hospital. Family has never been so sacred and tear-jerking in Norman Rockwell's writings. Where is your home?

Museum

In 1976, Norman Rockwell and a group of Stark City residents raised money to buy the Old Corner House, a crumbling building on Main Street. Later in the year, the old corner house was renovated into an exhibition hall to display local historical relics and works provided by himself. The old corner house gradually became the exhibition center of Rockwell's works, attracting 5,000 visitors in the first year of opening.

In 1973 Rockwell established a conservatorship to preserve his artistic estate and housed the entire collection in the Old Corner House. Three years later, Rockwell was in poor health, so he handed over the studio and other collections to the management organization for safekeeping. The old corner house was later converted into the Norman Rockwell Museum, and the management organization was changed to the Foundation. , becoming the core organization of the museum’s permanent collection.

Although there are countless well-known painters in the United States, there are indeed only a handful of painters who can establish a personal museum. Rockwell was the first American painter to enjoy this honor. The museum's collection includes 367 large-scale oil paintings, early sketches, pencil studies, watercolor and charcoal sketches and other classic works. The beauty of the original works is quite fascinating.

In 1977, Rockwell received the highest poverty honor awarded by the country, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He died at home on November 8 of the following year at the age of 84. His creative passion lasted for more than 79 years, leaving rich records of contemporary American life. He created more than 4,000 wonderful creations in his lifetime.

In 1993, the Rockwell Museum moved to its current location. In the same year, the studio was moved from the old street to the hillside opposite the museum and opened to visitors.

The painting tools, paints, art collections, travel souvenirs, archival materials, life photos used by Rockwell during his lifetime, a private library with 500 art books, and handicrafts given by painting fans, The total number exceeds 100,000 pieces, all of which are displayed one by one in the studio. This well-lit studio makes people imagine Rockwell immersed in his creation with a pipe in his mouth. Although the owner of the studio no longer exists, you can still feel the warmth of the artist's creation at that time.

Appreciation of works