Norman Rockwell

Il peculiare stile delle sue opere, definito "realismo romantico", ha riscosso, soprattutto negli Stati Uniti, un largo apprezzamento popolare ed ha influenzato generazioni successive di illustratori. La sua fama è legata soprattutto alle oltre 300 copertine create tra il 1916 e il 1963 per il magazine "The Saturday Evening Post", che costituiscono, nel loro insieme, un patrimonio prezioso della cultura popolare americana del secolo scorso.

There are few more satisfying sights on a city street than a well-stocked newsstand, hung with a hundred or more magazines and periodicals, each competing for the attention of the potential customer. The American magazine cover enjoyed a Golden Age during the period that opened with the high-speed color press, and ended when subscription sales grew to paramount importance. Dozens of gifted artists made their reputations in this field. None of them, however, achieved the immense and sustained popular success enjoyed by Norman Rockwell.

Although technically he was an academic painter, he had the eye of a photographer and, as he became a mature artist, he used this eye to give us a picture of America that was familiar—astonishingly so—and at the same time unique. The picture seemed familiar because it was everyone’s dream of America; it was unique because only Rockwell managed to bring it to life with such authority. Rockwell held up a friendly mirror to the society he lived in, and Americans have looked into this glass and seen themselves as warm, decent, hard-working citizens of a country bountiful enough to accommodate their boundless optimism.

Rockwell best expressed this vision of America in his justly famous cover illustrations for the Saturday Evening Post, painted between 1916 and 1963. All of his Post covers are reproduced in splendid full color in this oversized volume, with commentaries by Christopher Finch, the noted writer on art and popular culture.

In this latest printing of332 Magazine Covers, the thumbnail images accompanying Finch’s descriptive captions are printed in full color for the convenience of the reader, and the typography has been refreshed.

In the tradition of the bestselling Norman Rockwell’s Christmas Book and Norman Rockwell’s Spirit of America, this third book in Abrams’ Norman Rockwell series will focus on “dear ol’ Dad.” Like the previous books in the series, it pairs Rockwell’s illustrations with songs, poetry, short stories, and excerpts from novels, all of which convey the spirit of fatherhood. Additionally, it will contain a chapter on the quintessential pastimes enjoyed by fathers and their children, including playing catch, skipping stones, flying kites, and fishing, as well as easy-to-follow instructions that make these hobbies accessible for any dad. Norman Rockwell’s Treasury for Fathers will not only be a perfect Father’s Day gift, but also a great gift for Rockwell fans at any time of year.

A landmark volume placing Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms in their historical and artistic context.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt closed his 1941 State of the Union address with a vision of a world founded upon four human values: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear. By 1943, America had entered World War II, and inspired to do his part, Norman Rockwell painted a series of four paintings based on these Freedoms.

Rockwell’s innately American interpretations of the Freedoms found a familiar home at The Saturday Evening Post, where they proved overwhelmingly popular. The U.S. government put the works on tour, and they helped raise $133 million for the war effort.

Enduring Ideals reveals the complex and sometimes unexpected story behind FDR’s Freedoms and the role
of Rockwell’s paintings—on tour for the first time in a generation—in illuminating them. In doing so, it brings together other works, by Rockwell and his contemporaries—such as Ben Shahn, Dorothea Lange, and Gordon Parks—along with analysis and commentary by art historians and others, including activist Ruby Bridges, artist Daisy Rockwell, and Ambassador William vanden Heuvel.

Stephanie Haboush Plunkett is Deputy Director/Chief Curator, Norman Rockwell Museum.

James J. Kimble, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Communication & the Arts, Seton Hall University.