Little fact lovers, let me introduce you to Norman Perceval Rockwellđ˛!
He was an American illustrator and painter!
His amazing works have a broad appeal in America for their reflection of the nationâs culture!
So, let us take a look at some interesting facts regarding the life and works of this world-famous artist!
Interesting Norman Rockwell facts
Norman Rockwell was born in New York City
Little fact explorers, did you know that Rockwell was born in New York City?
He was born on February 3, 1894!
His dad was Jarvis Waring Rockwell, and his mom was Anne Mary âNancyâ Rockwell!
His dad was a Presbyterian, and his mom was an Episcopalian!
Norman had a brother, Jarvis Waring Rockwell Jr., who was one and a half years older than him!
At the age of 14, Rockwell transferred to the Chase Art School
Norman Rockwell transferred to the Chase Art School from his high school when he was just 14!
After that, he went on to the National Academy of Design đď¸!!
Finally, he went to the Art Students League! There he was taught by George Bridgman, Thomas Fogarty, and even Frank Vincent DuMond!
Painter Howard: Meet Rockwellâs biggest inspiration
Howard Pyle is often known as âthe father of American magazine illustration.â
Appropriately, Norman Rockwell, who later became a world-famous magazine cover artist, considered Howard, his personal âhero.â
Pyle illustrated and wrote several childrenâs books, many of which included swashbuckling piratesâ ď¸!
These amazing works completely captivated Rockwell! Hence, later Rockwell saluted them by throwing a Pyle-esque pirate into his famous painting of 1959, Family Tree!
Quite impressive, isnât it?
Rockwell received his first commission as a teenager
Rockwellâs career got off to a quite meteoric start.
At the age of 14, the native of Manhattan started taking classes through the New York School of Art.
Within the next year, Rockwell joined the Art Students League, a prestigious organization.
Later, Rockwell hadnât turned 16 when he got his first paid commission!
It was a set of four Christmas cards đrequested by a neighbor.
In 1912, Rockwell got his first major assignment
In 1912, Rockwell started tackling his first major assignment.
At just 18, he was hired to paintđ¨âđ¨ a dozen illustrations for Tell Me Why; Stories about Mother Nature by Charles H. Caudy, a Childrenâs book.
This gig of $150 helped set up a steady job!
It was the job of a staff artist and eventual art director for the well-known Boyâs Life magazine, where heâd started working prior to the year being out!
Rockwell created around 323 covers for The Saturday Evening Post
Little friends, have you heard this amazing fact about Rockwell? No? Let me tell you.
Perhaps no association between a magazine and an artist has ever made more widely celebrated than Rockwellâs work!
The work was for The Saturday Evening Post!
This amazing work of Rockwell first graced the cover of the publication on May 20, 1916!
Until the year 1963, heâd continue to supply the Post with memorable paintingsđźď¸!
The U.S Navy turned Rockwell away
Once the U.S. Navy entered the First World War, Rockwell tried to join the Navy.
Initially, the U.S. Navy đ˘rejected him because of being 17 pounds underweight!!
Becoming quite disappointed but resolute, Rockwell tried to gain weight by eating donuts and bananasđ!
Eventually, he gained enough weight to meet the requirements of the Navy!
His first military assignment included painting insignias on airplanes at an Irish base!
After shoving off for Europe, however, Rockwellâs ship was diverted to South Carolina!
There the artist got recruited as an illustrator for Afloat and Ashore, the Charleston Naval Yardâs official periodical!
The boy scouts of the United States Gave Rockwell a special thank you
Did you know this interesting secret about Rockwell?
In 1939, BSA officials handed Rockwell a Silver Buffalo before 3000 onlookers at Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan!
It was the highest award of the organization!
By that time, between his early job at Boyâs Life and his continued cover of Post, Norman Rockwell had been painting some other things as well!
He had been painting heroic scouts on canvasses for the better part of three decades!
Rockwellâs professional relationship with scouting lasted for 64 years!
When Rockwell was 82 years old, he finished The Spirit of â76, his last BSA-commissioned illustration!
Rockwellâs Four Freedom Series was depicted by the army
On January 6, 1941, F. D. Roosevelt gave a State of the Union address that was historic!
With the Axis powers looming ominously, he said that everyone must enjoy freedom of worship, freedom of speech, freedom from fear, and freedom from want.
Inspired by this address, Rockwell created a quartet of paintings!
Today, his Four Freedoms series is one of his most famous projectsđ˛!
The government sent the originals on tour after these paintings were published in The Saturday Evening Post! Around 1.1 million people viewed them!
These masterpieces helped Uncle Sam sell about $133 million worth of war bonds!
All three wives of Rockwell were school teachers
Have you heard this amazing fact about Rockwell?
First, Rockwell married Irene OâConnor đ°ââď¸ in 1916. She was a boarding house instructor and also an occasional model for his paintings!
She was Rockwellâs model in his famous painting Mother Tucking Children into Bed!
This painting was published on the Literary Digestâs cover on January 19, 1921.
However, the couple split 14 years after the marriage!
Then Rockwell married Mary Barstow! She was a grade-school teacher who had three sons with Rockwell.
However, she died in 1959, and Rockwell married once more!
His third wife was Molly Punderson, a retired educator!
Norman Rockwell received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977
I am really impressed to learn this wonderful fact about this amazing illustrator and painter, Rockwell!
At the ceremony, Gerald Ford praised Rockwell as an âartist, illustrator, and author (whose) vivid and affectionate portraits of our country and ourselves have become a beloved part of the American tradition.â
At that time, when he received the honorđĽ, Rockwell was about 83 years of age!
Rockwellâs struggle with depression
Though people can see optimism radiating from the paintings of Rockwell, his days werenât always so easy!
The alcohol problem of his second wife forced the family to relocate from Arlington, Vermont, to Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
There she received expensive and regular therapy from psychoanalyst Erik Erikson.
Erikson was an immigrant from Germany!
He conducted many sessions with Rockwell as Rockwell was prone to enter states of depression!
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are big fans of Rockwell
Both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are owners of impressive collections of authentic collections of Rockwell!
There is a bit of an ongoing friendly competition as well.
When Spielberg learned that Lucas had a genuine oil painting of Rockwell, he decided to up the ante.
In 2010, Spielberg said, âI went out and got a bigger Rockwell!â
The creator of Star Wars đŹ is a big fan of Rockwellâs mastery of visual narratives!
In July 2010, these two directors lent more than 50 Rockwell sketches and paintings to the Smithsonian American Art Museum as a part of a temporary exhibit!
In 2011 one of Rockwellâs paintings visited the White House
On November 14, 6-year-old Ruby Bridges started attending an elementary school in New Orleans!
She was the main subject of The Problem We All Live With (1963).
Because of the hostile environment, U.S. Marshals were asked to escort her!
In 1975, Stockbridgeâs Norman Rockwell Museum first bought the painting The Problem We All Live With!
However, since then, the painting traveled a lot and between June and October 2011, it was put on display at the White Houseâs West Wing hallway!
Bridges could go there herself and view it, with President Barack Obama at her side!
Norman Rockwell: Meet the official state artist of Massachusetts
I am really amazed to learn this remarkable fact about Rockwell! Want to know?
In the year 2008, the Bay State bestowed this amazing posthumous honor upon Rockwell!
Rockwell spent the last quarter century residing in the Berkshires!
In 2013, one of Rockwellâs paintings sold for around $50 million
Little friends, did you know this wonderful fact about Rockwell?
Saying Grace is an amazing piece of art that depicts an older woman and a boy joining in prayer at a public restaurant!
In 1951, when Rockwell created it for The Saturday Evening Post, he got $3500!
Later, in an auction in December 2013, an unidentified buyer offered $46 to take it home!
That sum more than tripled the previous price paid for a work of Rockwell Breaking Home Ties! It had sold in 2006 for $15 millionđ°! Really amazing, isnât it?
Stockbridge reenacts an iconic Rockwellian scene, every holiday season
Once, Rockwell described his longtime home town as âThe best of America, the best of New England.â
Stockbridge also loves him right back!
Every year, on the first Sunday in December, Stockbridge goes to great lengths to stage a real-life copy of Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas (Home for Christmas).
It is Rockwellâs amazing painting done in the year 1967!
For added authenticity, antique cars that can completely match their illustrated counterparts are brought it!
Also, fortunately, with very few exceptions, most of the buildings look a lot like they did in Rockwellâs time!
Rockwell died at the age of 84
This amazing illustrator and painter Norman Rockwell passed away on November 8, 1978.
He diedâ°ď¸ due to emphysema at the age of 84 in his own home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts!
First Lady Rosalynn attended his funeral!
Summing up
So little fact explorers, how are you feeling after learning so many interesting facts about Norman Rockwellđ˛!!?
We have tried to collect as much information about this famous artist as possibleâŚand we are sure you are satisfied đ!!
Looking forward to know your answers!
I’m a former teacher (and mother of Two Childs) with a background in child development. Here to help you with play-based learning activities for kids. ( Check my  Next startup Cledemy.Com)