“Some people have been kind enough to call me a fine artist. I've always called myself an illustrator. I'm not sure what the difference is. All I know is that whatever type of work I do, I try to give it my very best.
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Art has been my life”.
Norman Rockwell
Humour and wit were central aspects of Norman Rockwell’s character.
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From his first Saturday Evening Post cover, “Boy with Baby Carriage”, in 1916 to his thematic No Swimming paintings, to The Gossips, Rockwell filled a societal niche by providing levity during times of great strife.
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As Pablo Picasso noted, “the purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” Through two World Wars, the Great Depression, civil rights struggles, and the wars in Korea and Vietnam, Norman Rockwell’s paintings presented Americans with a window into a more idyllic world other than conflict.
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Though Rockwell is often regarded for paintings that addressed serious issues occurring at the moment of their creation, a great deal of Rockwell’s oeuvre is reflective of his sense of humour and his natural playfulness.