Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell charmed millions of Americans with his humorous, optimistic, and highly detailed depictions of everyday life and cherished ideals like freedom of speech, civil rights, and acceptance. Born on February 3, 1894 in New York City, Rockwell knew by age 14 that he wanted to become an artist. He studied at the Chase Art School, the National Academy of Design, and finally the Art Students League in New York. He began his full-time career as an illustrator at 17, became art director for Boy’s Life at 19, and illustrated his first Saturday Evening Post cover at 22.
Rockwell’s career with the Saturday Evening Post lasted 47 years and produced 322 original covers, reaching millions of readers. In 1943, he painted his famous Four Freedoms suite, inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 speech. These four paintings helped raise more than $130 million in war bonds. In 1963, Rockwell left the Post for Look magazine, where he painted controversial subjects like civil rights, including “The Problem We All Live With,” showing young Ruby Bridges being escorted to school on the first day of New Orleans’ integration.
Rockwell, who is represented by Park West Gallery, created more than 4,000 original paintings during his career. He later made lithographs with Circle Gallery and developed a large international market for his prints, paintings, drawings, and collectibles. In 1973, he established a trust that became the Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge in Massachusetts. Rockwell died on November 8, 1978, at age 84 in his Stockbridge home.