|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current Exhibitions Future Exhibitions Back to Exhibitions |
 Norman Rockwell's Home for the Holidays October 19, 2002–January 19, 2003 " … children want to believe in Santa Claus just as fervently as we
During his forty-seven years affiliation with The Saturday Evening Post from 1916 to 1963, Norman Rockwell was celebrated for his special holiday cover illustrations, which were commissioned to mark a full spectrum of annual events, from Thanksgiving, Christmas and The New Years to Valentine's Day and April Fools' Day. Prestigious assignments, Post holiday covers were anticipated by an enthusiastic public, and holiday issues were often printed in greater quantities than regular weekly magazine. Only the Post's top illustrators were invited to submit ideas for holiday covers.
Norman Rockwell is often credited as one of the major forces in shaping perceptions about the modern American Christmas and the sentimental feelings attached to it. Beginning in the late 19th century, the celebration of Christmas in America changed from a primarily private, religious ritual to a secular, commercial holiday. Magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post began to feature covers and stories with holiday themes beginning in late November, rather than only for the December 25 issue, with holiday illustrations by Norman Rockwell and others appearing as a series during the expanded season.
Rockwell's best-known Christmas images are his depictions of Santa Claus, which appeared on magazine covers, advertisements and Christmas cards. For many Christmas illustrations, however, Rockwell drew inspiration from the novels of Charles Dickens. The holiday celebrations of Dickens's "Merrie Olde England" appealed to viewers nostalgic for home, bygone times and a sense of universal good cheer and benevolence, rather than the commercial bustle of the modern holiday. Rockwell painted eight "Dickensian" covers for the Post. Several of these covers were later reprised as Hallmark cards in the late 1940s and 1950s.
Rockwell's holiday covers were usually created months in advance of their publication. His 1948 Christmas Homecoming, for example, depicts a festive Rockwell family gathering featuring painter Grandma Moses and fellow illustrator Mead Shaeffer and family. The cover was actually painted at the end of the previous summer before Rockwell's son Jarvis returned to school for the fall semester. In the image, Jarvis is pictured with his suitcase and packages in hand, home for the holiday.
Throughout the decades, Norman Rockwell's holiday covers shifted in subject and style, resulting in compelling imagery inspired by both the past and the present. This exhibition featuring original Saturday Evening Post cover tearsheets includes many of Norman Rockwell's most memorable and enduring holiday images.
This exhibition has been organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
(Copyright: Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts)adults want to believe in Peace on Earth and goodwill toward men." NORMAN ROCKWELL
|