Norman Rockwell's Pretty Women: An Introduction

We remember Norman Rockwell as a gifted illustrator mostly for the hundreds of covers he did for The Saturday Evening Post, a weekly magazine not particularly known for its sophistication. I would not describe it as a publication so much for "white bread America" as "biscuits and gravy America." At the time I thought both Collier's and Life magazine more interesting.

Illustrators everywhere marvelled at Rockwell's ability. It's one thing to compose this scene and quite another to draw and paint in all the characters -- and get it right in the process. Overwhelming! Copyright © Curtis Publishing Co.

We didn't always like his corny approach such as in this calendar page, probably from Brown & Bigelow for whom he worked for decades, and for whose needs the art was nevertheless perfect. Copyright © Brown & Bigelow.

Copyright © Crest.

We also wondered why he would want to do work for advertising agencies when he had a hefty income from Post covers alone. My guess is that this little girl was a sketch he had done for a Post cover and subsequently rejected. The hand is either an afterthought or someone else did it in his style because there is no way that it's in the correct position.

Yet another approach, similar to the Four Freedom paintings for which he was famous, only this time for a bank. A big bank to be sure, one of the very biggest. I can almost hear the art director saying, "Norm, give us something like the Four Freedoms, only smaller." Sorry, I couldn't resist. Copyright © Chase Manhattan Bank.

So, it's obvious that Norman Rockwell appears to have been driven to knock out painting after painting. It's a humungous body of work for anyone to produce, and as he progressed he simply got better and better at what he did. However, I have never heard him praised for is his ability to paint beautiful young women, which I would like to show and tell.

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

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

This is a cover for 5 August 1939 and in my opinion one of his finest paintings of a young woman. It was published at the time of year that summer stock theater productions are in full swing and depicts a beautiful young college student in costume applying her makeup while being observed by a chicken whose home has been converted into an impromptu dressing room.

Click on image to enlarge.

Next: Norman Rockwell's Pretty Women: 1919-1936.

Comments

[Jan T.]

I discovered this site coincidentally and with I discovered Norman Rockwell (well I am not from the US)! His pictures are a humorous sketch of the American way of life before and during the wartime. And of course these young girls are very cute. I just brought me this wonderful book. Thanks for the recommendation!

[KJ]

I just discovered your site and I am so utterly impressed! I have several Gibson Girls on my blog, and I find the appeal ageless!

I have always been an avid Norman Rockwell enthusiast. In High School (1973-76) I was asked by teacher to keep a journal. In the journal, I documented my love for all things Norman... I still remember how offended I was when she wrote in the margins that his paintings left nothing to the imagination! First of all, it was my journal and preference-- not public commentary. Secondly, even with the vivid detail of Rockwell paintings, any painting can only say so much before imagination has to take over. It is one moment surrounded by a lifetime of circumstances and emotion. He painted human nature and we all have different twists on the theme.

Thanks for a glorious site!
kj

[Jay Montgomery]

Wonderful commentary on one of my favorite illustrators.