Norman Rockwell Biography

American artist Norman Rockwell is known for his witty and heartwarming covers for The Saturday Evening Post. He did 322 covers for the popular magazine from 1916 through 1963: paintings of barefoot kids, small-town doctors, helpful cops, and other scenes of Americana. His early covers made Rockwell a star, and his paintings appeared in magazines, advertisements and greeting cards for the next half-century. Rockwell was a superb technician who liked to tell optimistic stories in his paintings; critics called his work sentimental or corny, but Rockwell said simply, “I paint life as I would like it to be.” His fame reached a peak in World War II, when his “Four Freedoms” paintings became so iconic that they were sent around the country to sell war bonds. Rockwell moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts in 1953 and lived there the rest of his life, using townsfolk as models for his paintings. His last Saturday Evening Post cover appeared in 1963, and for the next decade he worked extensively for Look magazine, covering more serious topics like civil rights and NASA moon landings. His autobiography, My Adventures as an Illustrator, was published in 1960.