Norman Rockwell's Pretty Women: 1919-1936

The following examples appeared in Norman Rockwell: 332 magazine covers and are copyright © 1979 by Cross River Press, Ltd., and Copyright © Curtis Publishing Co.

Christopher Finch's compilation of 332 magazine covers by Norman Rockwell.

A Rockwell cover for 21 March 1919 when he was 25 years old. Christopher Finch writes that this painting was a milestone in Rockwell's career for its "crispness," and as a "harbinger of things to come." That's true. He certainly got a lot better at illustrating young women.

Though his covers were meticulously painted, the subject matter throughout the early years were hardly more than cartoon situations. It wasn't until he was in mid-career that we see one of our first provocative depictions of the female form as in this Rockwell cover for 8 April 1933. He's got his model up on her toes to accentuate the lovely curve of her gluteus maximus.

By 7 March 1936 Rockwell had "gone Hollywood" with this young woman, portraying her amidst his usual cast of characters but painting her in what I would call a conservative and controlled John La Gatta style.

Next: Norman Rockwell's Pretty Women: 1940-1943.