Depicting Americana 
Who is this beloved artist?

Norman “Mooney” Rockwell

"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. My fundamental purpose is to interpret the typical American. I am a story teller."

• He created 321 covers for "The Saturday Evening Post"
• In 1994 a commemorative 29-cent stamp was issued in his honor
• He raised nearly $140 million for the WWII war effort through an exhibition of his patriotic series called "The Four Freedoms"

Norman Rockwell was born February 3, 1894 in Manhattan ’s Upper West Side. The prolific artist exhibited talent very young. His first sketches were drawings of warships from the Spanish-American war. When his father read stories aloud to the family, young Norman would listen attentively and sketch the characters from literature as he imagined them. He took art classes as a child and later enrolled in art school full time. He found early success and was paid to illustrate holiday cards when he was just fifteen. While still a teenager, he was hired by the Boy Scouts as the art director for their publications. He was considered to be an icon of American art depicting scenes from everyday small town life, as well as creating pictures illustrating some of his deepest concerns and interests, including civil rights, America ’s war on poverty, and the exploration of space. While Rockwell is best known for his “Saturday Evening Post” covers, he also illustrated the Mark Twain classics “Huckleberry Finn” and “Tom Sawyer.” His artwork is considered to be “Americana,” depicting a slice of American life. Norman Rockwell paintings tell a story.

Rockwell’s last published work came in July 1976, where he painted himself draping a “Happy Birthday” banner on the Liberty Bell in observance of the Fourth of July and the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. In 1977 President Gerald R. Ford presented Rockwell with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his “vivid and affectionate portraits of our country.” Rockwell was married twice and had three children. You can learn more about this extraordinary man by visiting his official website: http://www.normanrockwell.com/index.php.

Abrakadoodle students discover the wonderful art of Norman Rockwell in our classes for both preschool and elementary age children, and they create paintings in his style that reflect their own imaginations.