Rockwell

By Karal Ann Marling

Book Overview

An extraordinarily prolific artist, Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) produced some 4,000 paintings in his lifetime, not including a prodigious quantity of commissioned editorial, commercial, and advertising work. His death in 1978 was regarded the loss of a national icon, an artist who, like no other, celebrated the American Dream.

Shunning experimentation and avant-garde techniques in favor of effective composition and relatable subject matter, Rockwell created wholesome, homely paintings with accessible and aspirational appeal. Neat, quaint, and typically jovial, his subjects included classrooms, prom scenes, and Thanksgiving feasts, while his most long-standing projects were covers for The Saturday Evening Post magazine and calendars and covers for the Boys' Life publication of the Boy Scouts of America. Imbued with optimism and patriotism, the work foregrounds classic professions such as doctor and teacher, as much as the conservative stalwarts of military, family, and faith.

Hailed by President Gerald Ford as a "beloved part of the American tradition," Rockwell's works reveal as much about his own talents as they do about the story of 20th-century America. This fresh artist introduction from TASCHEN brings together key paintings and illustrations from his celebratory and sunny portfolio, as well as some more unusual works tackling the underside of the United States, to understand an integrally American artist, and the values and ideals that shaped his success.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3836532042
• ISBN13: 9783836532044
• Release Date: April 2017
• Publisher: Taschen
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 3.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.3" x 10.3"

Customer Reviews

The people's painter

A first class biography of Rockwell by social historian Marling in the handy Taschen art series and certainly value for money. It covers Rockwell's career in enough detail to keep you interested and I liked the way his significant paintings get detailed explanations in the text, not only technique but how they related to the times. Naturally, Rockwell's Post covers provide the largest number of images but there are some adverts and work for Look magazine after he left the Post. His increasing frustration with the narrow remit the Post allowed him regarding their covers is revealed and as he grew old Rockwell wanted to expand his subject matter and attempt paintings that had a social significance. Marling covers these themes which makes the book much more interesting than just a visual survey of his work. All the art is in color with some well researched black and whites of the artist, nicely designed and printed on reasonable paper. The back of the book has a bibliography though, strangely, no index. If you are new to Norman Rockwell I can recommend Thomas Buechner's magnificent Norman Rockwell published in 1970 and reprinted over the years but the first edition has tipped in plates and large fold-outs of paintings. Later editions don't have these features. I also enjoyed Advertising World Of Norman Rockwell (Italian Edition) by Donald and Marshall Stoltz, published in 1987. The only book to cover his ad art. ***SEE SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.