1. Norman Rockwell (1894 – 1976) Mrs.Tubolino’s 4 th Grade Class May 2008

2. Norman Rockwell was born on February 3, 1894 in New York City. He came from a wealthy family and often read Dickens’ novels after dinner. Norman would draw pictures of the Dickens’ characters as his father read.

3. Norman inherited his love of art from his grandfather. His grandpa used to walk door to door and draw children, pets, and farm animals and sell them for extra money. “Triple Self Portrait” Post Cover February 13, 1960

4. Rockwell’s mother never wanted him to pursue art as a career. She never thought he would be able to make a living by drawing. “The Outing” Post Cover August 30, 1947

5. Norman was a thin, uncoordinated boy who wore corrective shoes and glasses. He could not participate in sports so he decided to draw. “The Dugout” Post Cover Sept. 4, 1948

6. When he was a sophomore in high school, he quit school to attend the National Academy of Design in New York City. “The Shiner” Post Cover May 23, 1953

7. His art teacher taught him how important facial expressions are in an illustration. His teacher told him he needed to “live in the picture”. “No Swimming” Post Cover June 4, 1921

8. At age 16, he had his first paid work to design four Christmas cards. When he was 17 he illustrated his first book. “Santa” Post Cover Dec.16, 1939

9. He became the art director for “Boys Life” magazine at age 19. His salary was $50 per month. Later in life, Rockwell donated many pieces of art to the Boy Scouts and they currently have the largest collection of his work.

10. When Norman was 22, he quit his job at Boys Life to start drawing for the Saturday Evening Post magazine. During this time, he became very famous for his illustrations. “Election Day” Post Cover Oct. 30, 1948

11. Rockwell’s work appeared on over 300 covers of “The Saturday Evening Post”. His style became so familiar that the description of life “like in a Norman Rockwell painting” entered the American vocabulary. “Bottom of the Sixth” Post Cover April 23, 1949 “The Prom Dress” Post Cover March19, 1949

12. Photography was not common and Rockwell had to draw people for the covers of magazines where as today we see photographs. “Delores & Eddie” Post Cover June 12, 1937

13. He would pay kids a nickel to sit for hours while he would draw them. He used many of the same models over and over again in different pictures. He would visualize a person in his mind for a picture and then he would travel to different schools looking for the right person to model for him. “A Day in the Life of A Boy” Post Cover May 24, 1952

14. Norman Rockwell was famous and beloved for his idealized oil paintings of small town America. “The Runaway”

15. Rockwell’s paintings displayed realism and humor. “New Glasses” Post Cover May 19, 1956

16. In November 1978, Norman Rockwell died at the age of 84. 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. —Norman Rockwell “Homecoming Marine”

17. Norman Rockwell (1894 – 1976)