An artist friend of mine (whose style is nothing like Rockwell's) tells me Rockwell is underrated.. He's often dismissed as 'commercial,' but the fact is he's had an enormous impact on how millions of Americans see the American Dream.
Hello and I've always seethed at those who dismiss illustration because it's commercial. As far as I'm concerned it's an art form for actual people. Which 'proper' art also used to be before the charlatans came along.
They say; "those than can, do; and those that can't, teach." and I always add, "and those who can't teach become critics." From football pundits to artworld 'snobs', they all have to have their say about what the 'do-er' was up to. . . according to them?
Hello and I must admit I had been aware of his work for quite a few years before it dawnwed on me that he was arguably the world's most sophisticated cartoonist.
@@petebeard I love Rockwell. But I think Albert Dorne was a better artist (in regards to a sophisticated cartoonist), but not as famous. Rockwell's work is extraordinary, especially up close.
Norman Rockwell can also be considered a great cartoonist. His paintings are full of humour, irony, tenderness, reflections and comments on everyday life. The ability to expose an idea through an image, be it a joke, a story or a reflection is an art that Rockwell dominated with mastery.
Someone once asked me many years ago (I'm 69 years old) what my childhood was like, growing up on a dairy farm in the Midwest. I thought for a moment, and then replied, "I grew up in a Norman Rockwell painting." At the time, I thought that it was a clever answer, but have since come to realize that it was true in more ways than most people could understand. My childhood was idyllic, and I didn't even know it at the time. Rockwell's illustrations to me are a comforting return to a time we shall never see again.
Hello and many thanks for your favourable response to this video. Judging by many of the other comments - particularly from your fellow Americans of course - a large number of others of a similar age feel precisely as you do.
As an art student in Connecticut, I would drive up each year to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. The first museum was an old New England, white clapboard house on the main street in Stockbridge, small rooms on 2 floors, feeling like a favorite grandmother's house, but every wall filled with Rockwell originals. On one of those visits, one of the museum volunteers, a lovely white haired woman, showed us a around, pointing out the stories behind each painting. In a small room on the second floor hung the originals of WILLIE, the children's book. She told the story with bright eyes and soft words. I learned later as I left the museum that she was Molly herself, Rockwell's wife. An experience I'll never forget. Rockwell was a giant; seeing his originals oils with the juicy brush work and beautiful designs will convince anyone he was a true, honest and real Artist (capital A). Thanks again, Pete, for another great trip down memory lane.
Hi Doug and thanks for your comment and engaging recollection. Sadly for yours truly I've never seen a Rockwell (or any of the other American giants) in the flesh, so to speak. And I realise that at my age and general aversion to long flights I probably never will.Such is life, I suppose.
I had the good fortune to see some of Norman Rockwell's originals at a museum in San Diego Museum of Art in 2000… they were amazingly vibrant, colorful and tight as you'd expect. His talent for stylization, composition and storytelling within the frame are unmatched.
Honestly, Norman Rockwell is so good I think many artists wish they could be like him, with his ability to generate anatomy, intriguing subject matter, vibrant yet unbrash painting. Imagine having his ability and using your own art style, surely you'll be happy!
Thanks a lot for your comment, and talents such as Rockwell's don;t come around too often. It's a refreshing change that he was more than happy with being a successful illustrator, and not a frustrated and bitter "proper" artist like some others.
Rockwell's coloring technique, composition skills and his ability to catch "the right moment" are just astounding. As I painter I really respect Rockwell. Absolutely my favorite illustrator.
Thank you Peter for covering Norman Rockwell. I personally can’t get enough of his incredible art work! Attention to detail, lighting, colour tone, subject! I love it! And I don’t care if I’m a sentimentalist, and it may show a world that never existed, but we need it, now more than ever.
I've been in awe of Rockwell's work for 50 years. There was nothing too challenging for him. Each of these painting started out as a full-scale, detailed graphite drawing. I've seen the drawing from the train station painting, and in the final version he changed the praying old woman's bag to have an even MORE intricate design. His sense of composition and storytelling is unparalleled. He elevated illustration to a high art form. Thanks so much for this.
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. And I'm in absolute agreement with you about his importance in 20th century illustration. Maybe some day I'll get to see an original.
Finally a video on the man himself Norman Rockwell, I don't know what to add besides congratulate you for making yet another informative video. Rockwell work is so ingrained in the public memory that for a short period of time in places like twitter his piece "Freedom of Speech" became a meme where people used it to share unpopular opinions. Truly one of the greatest.
One of my all time favorite illustrators. I was fortunate that my Grandmother subscribed to SEP so I was introduced to him early. I've always enjoyed the way he arranged and painted the tiniest of nuances to his characters to authentically show their emotions. Brilliant! I am stilled astounded by the sheer volume of work he put out and at an incredibly high level. Thanks for another great one Pete.
Thanks so much Pete for this loving tribute! (Was always secretly waiting for this one to be produced but didn't feel I had the right to organise your schedule).
Hello and glad you enjoyed it. As I daid in the description box I had assumed everyone must be up to here with Rockwell. Sometimes it's nice to be wrong.
Why is it that when an artist’s work is popular, there is always a faction that decides it can’t be good? They arrogantly believe that unless the artistic work is only appreciated by a select few, it can’t have TRUE artistic merit. Norman Rockwell’s warm and wonderful work will be remembered and enjoyed by generations yet unborn. Thanks for this excellent biographic overview.
Hello and many thanks for your appreciation of this video. And its good to know that others including yourself share my contempt for the elitists who feel free to dictate what is and is not 'real' art.
Благодарю. Это подлинный виртуоз. Соединение трезвого скрупулёзного внимания и магического оптимизма, филигранной композиции и очаровательных нюансов, театрализованного бурлеска и глубокой тёплой расположенности к людям. Блестящий уровень.
Hello and if I already replied (which I thought I had) please ignore this one. Just to say thanks for your recent comments about two of my videos. Greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much for taking the time to bring us such wonderfully produced videos. I have learned so much from your channel that gets passed on to others who love it too. Perfect voice! ❤
"...we are lucky enough to view..." Peter Beard's releases, listen to his pithy remarks and be soothed by his Brahms lullaby tonality voiced with perfect enunciation. We are your indebted fans and friendly well-wishers! thank you, good Squire!
Thank you again Mr. Pete Beard for yet another fine episode. I think many of us assume we know a lot about these very famous figures but it usually turns out we really don't know much of anything. I think we end up formulating a personal relationship with them in our minds because we are surrounded by their work throughout our lives. I certainly learned a lot more about Norman Rockwell now. Thanks!
Thank you Mr. Beard, I have always enjoyed your entertaining and informative videos and I was elated to see that you covered Mr. Rockwell, again thank you.
Norman Rockwell is a national, if not a world treasure. I grew up with his wonderful illustrations inspiring me to study commercial illustration and design. Thank you for this look at a phenomenal Illustrator.
Hello again and I must say it has been a most cheering experience to have so much posive commentary from viewers on this one. Anyone failing to be impressed and moved by his work must be lacking a soul, in my book.
Great video, Pete. Norman Rockwell has always been a favorite of mine. I remember his Saturday Evening Post covers from my boyhood. We had the good fortune to visit the the Norman Rockwell Museum in Rutland, Vermont about 14 years ago. It was very enjoyable and informative. I read that it is now closed. His drawings reflect humor, goodness, and warmth which can be lacking in today's world. Thanks for sharing, Pete.
Hello and thanks as ever for your appreciation. I must say it has always been a great source of relief to me that technical skill wasn't a compulsory aspect of being an illustrator. Otherwise my career would have been remarkably short.
@@petebeard ...self-effacement, I relate with, Pete! I admit that I never know what terminology will get a rise out of some online commentators. One unsuspecting viewer leaving a comment on an art vlog was berated for saying that an artist's work had shown great "talent." The offended individual scoffed and said that was not the right word for it, because it implied that the artist was somehow not credited with skill, but rather bequeathed with a gift or talent, one not resultant from their dedication and perseverance, I suppose. (Just don't tell the "Talented and Gifted" class that they should be offended, and they probably won't be.)
One of the greatest Visual Artists of the Twentieth Century. Thanks Pete! And Good On Ya for sorting out the copyright strike in a matter of under a few hours!
Hello and thanks. But the joke is that when I rose from my pit this morning there were messages from lovely youtube informing me that even the new tracks were copyrighted too. Not a strike as such, but it means I'll make precisely zero money from the video. Good job I'm not trying to make a living here.
I fell in love the first time I saw his illustrations on the walls of a restaurant. It was love at first sight. Then I discovered his master, Leyendecker. Is hard to say who I love the most. Both are among the greatest artists of the 20th century.
For a while I've somewhat lazily considered Norman Rockwell a purveyor of a cheesy type of Americana. But with the coming of age I now see him as an important American storyteller, something a country needs to remind itself of the things it stands for. In WW2 for a weary GI in the Pacific to see a SEP cover of some kids swinging on a tyre suspended over a waterhole, or a shopkeeper looking perplexed as old lady tries to decide which type of boiled sweets to buy for her grandchild, must have been a tremendous morale booster. It's a kind of good-hearted propaganda, the type a government can never do because it requires an artist with a vision of something he dearly believes in to execute in a way that doesn't seem fake or heavy-handed. It's Rockwell's vision of what made America worth fighting for. And I think that has a resonance with people these days, when that vision of America seems to be blurred, and deeply contentious. Beyond all that, Rockwell was an absolute master of his craft. His compositions, colour sense and technical skill were of an unassailable level in a time when the US was producing a stream of brilliant illustrators. Thanks for the video. Some of the pix were new to me, but they all reminded me that Norman Rockwell was a great man and a great artist.
Hello again and many thanks for your absorbing insight about Rockwell. I must confess I spent much of my early life sneering at the wholesome nature of his work, especially in my hippy days when Robert Crumb and others dominated my consciousness. But as time went on I grew out of that youthful cynicism and came to realise that there's a place for pretty much everything in illustration, and so what if he was sentimental. It's still some of the finest painting ever created.
@@petebeard Thank you. I believe there was a school of US art they called the "Ashcan" school, which focused on the less salubrious aspects of American life. As you suggest, there's room for both in a healthy culture.
That was Wonderful! I knew a lot of Rockwell's paintings/images. This told me more of the man and what was behind him. Thank you again. for this and all the other views that you bring forward..
These videos are always superb and this one is yet another example. As for Rockwell, his work has rightly been loved by people for precisely the reason he was criticised by some in the art community, their positivity. I have always loved them and enjoy them to this day. Thanks for this salute to a great figure in American popular culture.
Hello and I'm very pleased you enjoyed this video tribute to one of the all time greats. It seems many others - me included - share your opinion of Rockewell and his work.
When I was just a young sprat, the town barbershop had a series of Rockwell prints up on the wall, including the one a 8:30. I think that started my love of his illustrations. Somehow, I managed to go this far without realizing he'd illustrated an edition of Tom Sawyer. I'll have to hunt down a copy, even if only a reprint. I've got a spot on my bookshelf that'd be just perfect for it.
Hello again and I'm glad you were inspired by his work. I always recognised his ability but in my youth I'm ashamed to say I sneered at his upbeat content. But then I grew up.
Bravo. This is one of the best summaries of a -remixer America’s illustrators. It is a meaningful compilation, straightforward and well assessed covering a enormous body of work. As a painter, I appreciate the tone and clarity of an unapologetic presentation of someone who represents the idea of illustration without pretense. It is enough. Well done
This is the kind of video i really love. About "just" an illustrator. What a talented artist !! The quality of the drawings are insane.. This is too good ! Thank you again so much for this !
After your video on Maxfield Parrish, I didn't expect to be as awestruck at Norman Rockwell's prodigious output! He had the eye of a cartoonist but his caricatures were average human faces. His images had story and context that made them relatable. I'm starting to see Rockwell as one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century.
For a man with so obviously few pretensions his work and name endures. I think you hit the nail on the head at the end Pete: he portrayed the American dream. To achieve that will ensure his immortality
As a ripple effect of Rockwell; I was taught the fine aspects of ‘illustrating’ on billboards by a man who studied from the work of Norman Rockwell. My friend’s name was Ray; and he was able to make a 14 foot tall painting on a billboard look like a photograph; I never achieved that level of precision myself, but Ray did amazing work; having studied Rockwell. This video is a real treat; thank you! BTW, Ray was old enough to be my dad; I wasn’t around until ‘67.
I like Rockwell, not only for his technical accomplishment, but that each vignette tells a story. As always thanks for posting. P.S As an aside I think the West has declined since men stopped smoking pipes :-)
Hello again and I'm glad you enjoyed this video. And with reference to your aside what about actual leather shoes? And tucked-in shirts. Don't get me started...
Oh i’m so happy you did this. He’s weirdly both over- and under- rated, i think probably because of how pop media production works in the US. I like comparing/contrasting him to Warhol.
Hello and thanks fir the comment. For me one of his greatest pieces is the obviously wealthy chap viewed from behind staring at a meaningless Pollock lookalike splatter.
Each of those are works of art in their own right. The attention to detail is astonishing considering they're supposed to be throw away pictures for magazines. Love his work.
Luckily I was around to see some of his new work towards the end of his career. He was brilliant! A blend of sentiment and realistic physical depiction. Ignore the poses and the faces and just look at the way he depicts clothes on the human frame or even draped across a chair and you realize you are viewing genius. Thanks so much. Pete!
Rosie the Riveter at Sistine - proper history of Art - respect, and many thanks for that gem Pete! He also didn't appear to care what Fine Artists and the critics thought, he didn't need to, he had far more talent than most of them put together!
Another truly wonderful video, Mr Beard. Thank you. I find it enviable how you skip between countries and continents. I am a steadfast devotee of English illustration to English books. I find it hard crossing over the sea although I do own work by European and US artists including one by one of the few artists that Norman Rockwell personally tutored.
Hello again and thanks a lot for your appreciation, as usual. If pressed I'd say that the bulk of my interest in illustration is also that of the home grown variety, and particularly humorous work. But making these videos has opened me up considerably to other countries, cultures, and styles of illustration. And I'm very happy about that.
One.) HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY! Two.) I always looked forward to the well thumbed Saturday Evening Post arriving after our mailman had read it! I loved the illustrations and the stories that the pictures told. Three.) At one time, I had that album! So very cool. And I bought it because of the cover. I wouldn't have discovered Al Cooper or Mike Bloomfield without it.
Hello and thanks for your greetings and comment. I must say it seems the weirdest of collisions that Rockwell would paint portraits of those two. On the other hand apparently Bowie wanted to use him for an album cover too - Young Americans I think. But wasn't prepared to wait for 6 months for Rockwell to get round to it.
Hello and many thanks for your appreciation. I'm glad you find my English clearly spoken. If it helps you can always use the subtitles in your language too.
Absolutely - and Rockwell himself was eloquent about the subject of most modern art with his picture of a businessman looking at a Pollock-y abstract. Very funny.
Ohe cover Rockwell did for the Post in the 1950's (I think ) created a bit of a fuss. Rockwell painted an old New England fisherman carrying a wooden crate with open slats, with a topless Mermaid coyly smiling inside the crate.The slates and one of her arms were posed just enough to give the Mermaid some modesty. I think most people wouldn't blink and eye if they saw it today, but not back then!
Thanks Pete, again, well told and presented. I still remember the excitement of my first encounter with Rockwell - though I love his earlier, less photographic-looking work best, (such as the Yankee Doodle Dandy mural).
Hello again and my thanks as ever. In my own case I admire his work immensely but struggle to actually like it. A little bit of subversion would help in that regard.
@@petebeard I can understand that. For myself, the more photographic looking it became the less punch it had. But I don't mind the sentimental Americana... much.
Norman has been a big inspiration for my artwork lately same with john falter or leyendecker, the quailty of their backgrounds to realistic yet simplistic shape break downs of anatomy and humans is easy to follow, and the painting style is just mesmerizing, thank you norman for being mentors for young artists everywhere :] Side story: its also helping me and my grandmother who is 98 bond over something we share in common which is the love for saturday evening post, 💕
Excellent video. Thanks for making it. Good music choice too. Edit: I'm now subscribed! Can't believe the amount of videos you've made about midcentury art. Looking forward to pouring thru your catalogue.
The greatest tragedy was the Leyendecker legacy getting broken up, instead of installed in some kind of insturte for safe keeping. But I guess at least it didn't burn up in a fire. The Gods reminding the artists that creation is ephemeral.
As soon as I seen the thumbnail I rushed to watch it. I seen illustrators make photographic quality art but it's missing something, a rare quality that every so slightly skewed realism to give it emotion in every stoke. That is Norman Rockwell to me.
Hello and I was completely unaware of this photo. And it looks very much like Rockwell must have known about it. He did take his own posed photo for reference too but the similarities are too great to be ignored. Well spotted.
From 00:08:23 - 27? The girl outside the principal's office is very large in real life...about four feet high and three feet wide. that particular painting was a gift from normal to Mr Walter Elias Disney. And, when I saw it at the Disney studios, mid to late 1970s, I marveled at how thick the paint was that Norman had applied --- as if gobs of oatmeal with a spoon. P.s. the fire in his studios? One theory: he had dumped smoldering tobacco into a trashcan at the end of his day. to quote the Bard of Avon, "Smoking pipe tobacco doth make an ash of us all!" (Notice: I didn't use the name " Shakespeare".) Respectfully submitted for your consideration Gregg Oreo Long Beach Ca Etats Unis
Hi Gregg and thanks for your comment and insight. I've never had the pleasure (and probably never will) of seeing an actual Rockwell painting. Ho hum...
@@petebeard thank you Sir for your kind reply. What struck me most was the huge size of Rockwell's canvas dimensions. But. (Maybe two years later) I was commissioned to paint a cover for a children's coloring book. With Rockwell in mind, my choice for canvas size was not 1 foot by 2 feet, nor was it 2 × 3, but his 3 foot by 4. I was amazed by how "freeing " the larger approach made my work and, now that I recall the process: the "larger size" accorded me the chance to A.) Step back farther and B.) "See" the work from a farther vantage point for more charity's sake in appraising the painting's progress. C.) The only pitfall is: when one is painting on the rim of the Grand Canyon... I have still to recover from being excavated by Trail Donkey Paramedics. (I joke of course). I was "helicopter-ed" out. 😃respectfully yours Gregg Oreo Long Beach Ca Etats Unis
Hello and you certainly picked a trio of greats there. i thnink the problem I have with the term 'artist' these days is it tends to conjure up a mental image of some charlatan or other throwing paint at a canvas, or exhibiting an unmade bed. It didn't used to be the case.
A fellow artist told me of being in a museum in Boston several decades ago. He was in a room with several Rembrandts. Like all Artists, he was wondering if his own work would ever sell for millions of dollars or wind up in a museum. He looked around and saw Norman Rockwell who, he assumed, was studying the Rembrandts and having the same thoughts. Best wishes from Vermont 🍁
He's my favourite artist. None of the artists since Caravaggio had the drawing skills of this man, and certainly the emotional response his work produces is a locater and indicator of the integrity and character of the viewer - to the pure his work is beautiful and ingenious, to the corrupt it's sentimental and trite.
An artist friend of mine (whose style is nothing like Rockwell's) tells me Rockwell is underrated.. He's often dismissed as 'commercial,' but the fact is he's had an enormous impact on how millions of Americans see the American Dream.
You raise an interesting point.
How much of the American Dream was real,
and how much of it was just a Mass Media fabrication ?
Hello and I've always seethed at those who dismiss illustration because it's commercial. As far as I'm concerned it's an art form for actual people. Which 'proper' art also used to be before the charlatans came along.
They say; "those than can, do; and those that can't, teach." and I always add, "and those who can't teach become critics." From football pundits to artworld 'snobs', they all have to have their say about what the 'do-er' was up to. . . according to them?
@@petebeard what is your take on ai art?
@negotiableaffections I altered it: those who can,do. Those who can't, become middle management.
His ability to create cartoonish, yet thoroughly realistic and engaging characters is just so much fun; thank you, as always.
Hello and I must admit I had been aware of his work for quite a few years before it dawnwed on me that he was arguably the world's most sophisticated cartoonist.
@@petebeard I love Rockwell. But I think Albert Dorne was a better artist (in regards to a sophisticated cartoonist), but not as famous. Rockwell's work is extraordinary, especially up close.
@@SeanWickett Hello and I'm an admirer of Dorne's work too. If you havent seen it he features in unsung heroes 59.
@@petebeard thanks! off to watch that!
@@petebeard карикатура предполагает некоторую долю насмешки
Роквел- очень любящий наблюдатель
У него легкая рука и жизнеутверждающий, радостный дух
Norman Rockwell can also be considered a great cartoonist. His paintings are full of humour, irony, tenderness, reflections and comments on everyday life. The ability to expose an idea through an image, be it a joke, a story or a reflection is an art that Rockwell dominated with mastery.
Hello and thanks a lot for your comment. And I agree 100%. His ability to tweak human behaviour and body language is uncanny.
Rockwell is simply one of the Greatest Illustration Heroes of the Century!! Brilliant Work!!!
Very true. Thanks a lot.
Absolutely agree!
Someone once asked me many years ago (I'm 69 years old) what my childhood was like, growing up on a dairy farm in the Midwest. I thought for a moment, and then replied, "I grew up in a Norman Rockwell painting." At the time, I thought that it was a clever answer, but have since come to realize that it was true in more ways than most people could understand. My childhood was idyllic, and I didn't even know it at the time. Rockwell's illustrations to me are a comforting return to a time we shall never see again.
Hello and many thanks for your favourable response to this video. Judging by many of the other comments - particularly from your fellow Americans of course - a large number of others of a similar age feel precisely as you do.
As an art student in Connecticut, I would drive up each year to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. The first museum was an old New England, white clapboard house on the main street in Stockbridge, small rooms on 2 floors, feeling like a favorite grandmother's house, but every wall filled with Rockwell originals. On one of those visits, one of the museum volunteers, a lovely white haired woman, showed us a around, pointing out the stories behind each painting. In a small room on the second floor hung the originals of WILLIE, the children's book. She told the story with bright eyes and soft words. I learned later as I left the museum that she was Molly herself, Rockwell's wife. An experience I'll never forget. Rockwell was a giant; seeing his originals oils with the juicy brush work and beautiful designs will convince anyone he was a true, honest and real Artist (capital A). Thanks again, Pete, for another great trip down memory lane.
Hi Doug and thanks for your comment and engaging recollection. Sadly for yours truly I've never seen a Rockwell (or any of the other American giants) in the flesh, so to speak. And I realise that at my age and general aversion to long flights I probably never will.Such is life, I suppose.
I had the good fortune to see some of Norman Rockwell's originals at a museum in San Diego Museum of Art in 2000… they were amazingly vibrant, colorful and tight as you'd expect. His talent for stylization, composition and storytelling within the frame are unmatched.
Hello and thanks for the comment. I'm sorry to say I've never seen a Rockwell original, and I'm fairly sure I never will. A great pity.
My good fortune was visiting the Norman Rockwell Museum in Philadelphia in the early 1980s
@@petebeard Hi Pete, you can come see my original Rockwell here in Calif if you'd like.
Rockwell is to illustrators as Pet Beard is to chroniclers of Illustration. Unequaled.
Hello and that;s a very flattering comment - thanks a lot.
Honestly, Norman Rockwell is so good I think many artists wish they could be like him, with his ability to generate anatomy, intriguing subject matter, vibrant yet unbrash painting. Imagine having his ability and using your own art style, surely you'll be happy!
Thanks a lot for your comment, and talents such as Rockwell's don;t come around too often. It's a refreshing change that he was more than happy with being a successful illustrator, and not a frustrated and bitter "proper" artist like some others.
Rockwell's coloring technique, composition skills and his ability to catch "the right moment" are just astounding. As I painter I really respect Rockwell. Absolutely my favorite illustrator.
Thanks a lot for your comment. Undoubtedly one of my more popular videos and it's not hard to understand why.
Thank you Peter for covering Norman Rockwell. I personally can’t get enough of his incredible art work! Attention to detail, lighting, colour tone, subject! I love it! And I don’t care if I’m a sentimentalist, and it may show a world that never existed, but we need it, now more than ever.
Hello and amen to that. Thanks for the comment.
I am sentimental about his paintings too. That's why I made a video about him too.
The framing amd layout of some of his illustrations, specially for the magazine covers, are so delicious to the eyes. I never get tired of them.
Hello and he does seem to hve had an uncanny knack for composition, from his isolated figures to complex crowd scenes.
@@petebeard He really does. At least he's one of my inspirations as I study graphic design and illustration. His layouts feel quite "modern" somehow.
I've been in awe of Rockwell's work for 50 years. There was nothing too challenging for him. Each of these painting started out as a full-scale, detailed graphite drawing. I've seen the drawing from the train station painting, and in the final version he changed the praying old woman's bag to have an even MORE intricate design. His sense of composition and storytelling is unparalleled. He elevated illustration to a high art form. Thanks so much for this.
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. And I'm in absolute agreement with you about his importance in 20th century illustration. Maybe some day I'll get to see an original.
Finally a video on the man himself Norman Rockwell, I don't know what to add besides congratulate you for making yet another informative video. Rockwell work is so ingrained in the public memory that for a short period of time in places like twitter his piece "Freedom of Speech" became a meme where people used it to share unpopular opinions.
Truly one of the greatest.
Hello and once again I'm very grateful for your appreciation for my work on the channel. Glad you enjoyed it.
One of my all time favorite illustrators.
I was fortunate that my Grandmother subscribed to SEP so I was introduced to him early. I've always enjoyed the way he arranged and painted the tiniest of nuances to his characters to authentically show their emotions. Brilliant!
I am stilled astounded by the sheer volume of work he put out and at an incredibly high level.
Thanks for another great one Pete.
Hello and thanks a lot. The combination of prolific and hugely talented is hard to beat. I couldn't manage either.
Thank you. Every piece is like a short story or a play, a silent film in a still and with a sense of humour.
Hello again and that's as good an evaluation of the quality of his work as I've encountered. Thanks.
Thanks so much Pete for this loving tribute! (Was always secretly waiting for this one to be produced but didn't feel I had the right to organise your schedule).
Hello and glad you enjoyed it. As I daid in the description box I had assumed everyone must be up to here with Rockwell. Sometimes it's nice to be wrong.
Why is it that when an artist’s work is popular, there is always a faction that decides it can’t be good? They arrogantly believe that unless the artistic work is only appreciated by a select few, it can’t have TRUE artistic merit. Norman Rockwell’s warm and wonderful work will be remembered and enjoyed by generations yet unborn. Thanks for this excellent biographic overview.
Hello and many thanks for your appreciation of this video. And its good to know that others including yourself share my contempt for the elitists who feel free to dictate what is and is not 'real' art.
Благодарю. Это подлинный виртуоз. Соединение трезвого скрупулёзного внимания и магического оптимизма, филигранной композиции и очаровательных нюансов, театрализованного бурлеска и глубокой тёплой расположенности к людям. Блестящий уровень.
Здравствуйте и большое спасибо за высокую оценку видео и работы этого замечательного иллюстратора.
Thank you Pete! Rockwell is an icon and yet many things in the video were new to me.
Hello and thanks. Me too.
The sentimentality is undeniable, but so is the sheer quality of his painting and the strikingness of his compositions! Thank you.
Hello and if I already replied (which I thought I had) please ignore this one. Just to say thanks for your recent comments about two of my videos. Greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much for taking the time to bring us such wonderfully produced videos. I have learned so much from your channel that gets passed on to others who love it too. Perfect voice! ❤
Hello and many thanks for your appreciation - and particularly for sharing with others.
one of my all time favourites. thank you.
Hello and you are more than welcome.
"...we are lucky enough to view..." Peter Beard's releases, listen to his pithy remarks and be soothed by his Brahms lullaby tonality voiced with perfect enunciation. We are your indebted fans and friendly well-wishers! thank you, good Squire!
Aw shucks, once more my friend.
Thank you again Mr. Pete Beard for yet another fine episode. I think many of us assume we know a lot about these very famous figures but it usually turns out we really don't know much of anything. I think we end up formulating a personal relationship with them in our minds because we are surrounded by their work throughout our lives. I certainly learned a lot more about Norman Rockwell now. Thanks!
Hello and thanks for the comment. And what you say is very true - in the making of this video I re-evaluated my own ideas about Rockwell's work.
Thank you Mr. Beard, I have always enjoyed your entertaining and informative videos and I was elated to see that you covered Mr. Rockwell, again thank you.
Hello and many thanks for your comment and appreciation.
Norman Rockwell is a national, if not a world treasure. I grew up with his wonderful illustrations inspiring me to study commercial illustration and design. Thank you for this look at a phenomenal Illustrator.
Hello again and I must say it has been a most cheering experience to have so much posive commentary from viewers on this one. Anyone failing to be impressed and moved by his work must be lacking a soul, in my book.
Great video, Pete. Norman Rockwell has always been a favorite of mine. I remember his Saturday Evening Post covers from my boyhood. We had the good fortune to visit the the Norman Rockwell Museum in Rutland, Vermont about 14 years ago. It was very enjoyable and informative. I read that it is now closed. His drawings reflect humor, goodness, and warmth which can be lacking in today's world. Thanks for sharing, Pete.
Hello and many thanks for your appreciation of the video. The comments from viewers seem to confirm his popularity with many, I'm delighted to say.
Rock On/ a very loved early young springboard artist that never lost our favor in American Life .
Thanks for the comment. Surely the most American of all American illustrators.
Would that I had the skill Mr. Rockwell had in his little finger! I grew up admiring his work. Thank you for sharing it with us, Mr. Beard!
Hello and thanks as ever for your appreciation. I must say it has always been a great source of relief to me that technical skill wasn't a compulsory aspect of being an illustrator. Otherwise my career would have been remarkably short.
@@petebeard ...self-effacement, I relate with, Pete!
I admit that I never know what terminology will get a rise out of some online commentators.
One unsuspecting viewer leaving a comment on an art vlog was berated for saying that an artist's work had shown great "talent."
The offended individual scoffed and said that was not the right word for it, because it implied that the artist was somehow not credited with skill, but rather bequeathed with a gift or talent, one not resultant from their dedication and perseverance, I suppose.
(Just don't tell the "Talented and Gifted" class that they should be offended, and they probably won't be.)
One of the greatest Visual Artists of the Twentieth Century. Thanks Pete!
And Good On Ya for sorting out the copyright strike in a matter of under a few hours!
Hello and thanks. But the joke is that when I rose from my pit this morning there were messages from lovely youtube informing me that even the new tracks were copyrighted too. Not a strike as such, but it means I'll make precisely zero money from the video. Good job I'm not trying to make a living here.
I fell in love the first time I saw his illustrations on the walls of a restaurant. It was love at first sight. Then I discovered his master, Leyendecker. Is hard to say who I love the most. Both are among the greatest artists of the 20th century.
Hello and thanks for the comment. And yes they are both monumental figures in the history of illustration.
@@petebeard You're welcome! I love your channel!!!
@@licantropo86 I personally learn a lot from this channel.
For a while I've somewhat lazily considered Norman Rockwell a purveyor of a cheesy type of Americana.
But with the coming of age I now see him as an important American storyteller, something a country needs to remind itself of the things it stands for.
In WW2 for a weary GI in the Pacific to see a SEP cover of some kids swinging on a tyre suspended over a waterhole, or a shopkeeper looking perplexed as old lady tries to decide which type of boiled sweets to buy for her grandchild, must have been a tremendous morale booster.
It's a kind of good-hearted propaganda, the type a government can never do because it requires an artist with a vision of something he dearly believes in to execute in a way that doesn't seem fake or heavy-handed.
It's Rockwell's vision of what made America worth fighting for.
And I think that has a resonance with people these days, when that vision of America seems to be blurred, and deeply contentious.
Beyond all that, Rockwell was an absolute master of his craft. His compositions, colour sense and technical skill were of an unassailable level in a time when the US was producing a stream of brilliant illustrators.
Thanks for the video. Some of the pix were new to me, but they all reminded me that Norman Rockwell was a great man and a great artist.
Hello again and many thanks for your absorbing insight about Rockwell. I must confess I spent much of my early life sneering at the wholesome nature of his work, especially in my hippy days when Robert Crumb and others dominated my consciousness. But as time went on I grew out of that youthful cynicism and came to realise that there's a place for pretty much everything in illustration, and so what if he was sentimental. It's still some of the finest painting ever created.
@@petebeard
Thank you. I believe there was a school of US art they called the "Ashcan" school, which focused on the less salubrious aspects of American life. As you suggest, there's room for both in a healthy culture.
Another great video, Pete. I'm old enough to remember when he was active! Thanks for bringing back a lot of memories...
These videos are so well-made.
Hello and I'm grateful for your appreciation.
That was Wonderful! I knew a lot of Rockwell's paintings/images. This told me more of the man and what was behind him. Thank you again. for this and all the other views that you bring forward..
Hello and thanks a lot for your comment. It's good to know the channel is appreciated.
Almost an otherworldly talent. Just incredible. Lovely job Pete
These videos are always superb and this one is yet another example. As for Rockwell, his work has rightly been loved by people for precisely the reason he was criticised by some in the art community, their positivity. I have always loved them and enjoy them to this day. Thanks for this salute to a great figure in American popular culture.
Hello and I'm very pleased you enjoyed this video tribute to one of the all time greats. It seems many others - me included - share your opinion of Rockewell and his work.
One of my favorite artists.
Hi John and it seems you are far from alone in that regard.
When I was just a young sprat, the town barbershop had a series of Rockwell prints up on the wall, including the one a 8:30. I think that started my love of his illustrations.
Somehow, I managed to go this far without realizing he'd illustrated an edition of Tom Sawyer. I'll have to hunt down a copy, even if only a reprint. I've got a spot on my bookshelf that'd be just perfect for it.
Hello again and I'm glad you were inspired by his work. I always recognised his ability but in my youth I'm ashamed to say I sneered at his upbeat content. But then I grew up.
Wonderful stuff, I’ve loved his work for years. We just don’t see enough of it. Also like your series on illustrators very much
Hello and many thanks for your appreciation of the video and the channel. It's very welcome.
My favorite youtube series and channel. Thank you.
Hello and what a pleasure to know that. Thanks a lot.
Many thanks Pete for the appreciation of Rockwell's work and introducing me to his autobiography which I really enjoyed.
Hello and many thanks for both your recent favourable comments about the channel content. Appreciation of the work is always welcome.
Bravo. This is one of the best summaries of a -remixer America’s illustrators. It is a meaningful compilation, straightforward and well assessed covering a enormous body of work. As a painter, I appreciate the tone and clarity of an unapologetic presentation of someone who represents the idea of illustration without pretense. It is enough. Well done
Hello and many thanks for your appreciation of this video. It's very welcome.
Such an underrated artist! Nobody paints dogs like Rockwell! Excellent video!
Hello and I must admit I hadn't noticed his 4 legged characters.
@@petebeard There is a book called 'Faithful Friends' which focuses on his paintings of dogs.
Amazing art. Thanks for the lovely presentation.
Hello again and thanks as usual.
This is the kind of video i really love. About "just" an illustrator. What a talented artist !! The quality of the drawings are insane.. This is too good ! Thank you again so much for this !
Hello again and thanks a lot. Your appreciation is always welcome.
After your video on Maxfield Parrish, I didn't expect to be as awestruck at Norman Rockwell's prodigious output! He had the eye of a cartoonist but his caricatures were average human faces. His images had story and context that made them relatable. I'm starting to see Rockwell as one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century.
Hello and I'm glad the video has prompted you to ere-evaluate his work. It certainly had that effect on me, making the video.
And yet your help is very much appreciated. Great vid.
Hello and thanks a lot for your positive comment.
For a man with so obviously few pretensions his work and name endures. I think you hit the nail on the head at the end Pete: he portrayed the American dream. To achieve that will ensure his immortality
Hello and thanks a lot for your comment and appreciation.
As a ripple effect of Rockwell; I was taught the fine aspects of ‘illustrating’ on billboards by a man who studied from the work of Norman Rockwell. My friend’s name was Ray; and he was able to make a 14 foot tall painting on a billboard look like a photograph; I never achieved that level of precision myself, but Ray did amazing work; having studied Rockwell. This video is a real treat; thank you! BTW, Ray was old enough to be my dad; I wasn’t around until ‘67.
Hello and many thanks for your comment. The ripple effect generated by a talent as profound as Rockwell's could never be overstated.
I like Rockwell, not only for his technical accomplishment, but that each vignette tells a story. As always thanks for posting.
P.S As an aside I think the West has declined since men stopped smoking pipes :-)
Hello again and I'm glad you enjoyed this video. And with reference to your aside what about actual leather shoes? And tucked-in shirts. Don't get me started...
A great artist brilliant thanks for the video
...and thanks for your appreciation.
Good, underrated and brilliant artist. Big fan, thanks for this video ❤❤❤
Hello again and thanks for the comment. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Pete, thank you very much. You story telling is brilliant as always.
Many thanks for your appreciation. Always welcome.
Oh i’m so happy you did this.
He’s weirdly both over- and under- rated, i think probably because of how pop media production works in the US.
I like comparing/contrasting him to Warhol.
Hello and thanks fir the comment. For me one of his greatest pieces is the obviously wealthy chap viewed from behind staring at a meaningless Pollock lookalike splatter.
Thank You, Mr Beard, for yet another informative art video.
Hello and thanks a lot for your comment.
Each of those are works of art in their own right. The attention to detail is astonishing considering they're supposed to be throw away pictures for magazines. Love his work.
Hello and many thanks for your positive response to the video.
Luckily I was around to see some of his new work towards the end of his career. He was brilliant! A blend of sentiment and realistic physical depiction. Ignore the poses and the faces and just look at the way he depicts clothes on the human frame or even draped across a chair and you realize you are viewing genius. Thanks so much. Pete!
Hello again and I;m very pleased that you enjoyed this video. He really was a giant figure in the history of illustration.
@@petebeard Yes! And very modest about it!
Best channel anywhere! Bravo!
Hello and I'm delighted you think so.
Rosie the Riveter at Sistine - proper history of Art - respect, and many thanks for that gem Pete! He also didn't appear to care what Fine Artists and the critics thought, he didn't need to, he had far more talent than most of them put together!
Hello again, and that hijacking of the pose made me laugh when I came across it.
Excellent video about an excellent artist ... thank you for posting it.
Hello and thanks a lot for your appreciation.
Rockwell Illustrations and America! Great coverage! Tnx!
Hi Mike and thanks as usual. Glad you enjoyed it.
He was such an accomplished artist/ illustrator..his compositions were so varied in the ideas he expressed
Hello and I'm pleased to see that many other comments align with your own. It's no less than his work deserves.
Pete Beard, you are a legend! Thanks for making these exceptionally interesting videos about so many amazing artists!
Hello and thanks a lot for your appreciation of the channel. Your support and subscription are very welcome.
you're welcome! I admit I have sent your videos to many of my fellow artist and filmmaker friends. They love them too. @@petebeard
Hello again and thanks a lot for sharing the videos. It's greatly appreciated.
Another truly wonderful video, Mr Beard. Thank you.
I find it enviable how you skip between countries and continents. I am a steadfast devotee of English illustration to English books. I find it hard crossing over the sea although I do own work by European and US artists including one by one of the few artists that Norman Rockwell personally tutored.
Hello again and thanks a lot for your appreciation, as usual. If pressed I'd say that the bulk of my interest in illustration is also that of the home grown variety, and particularly humorous work. But making these videos has opened me up considerably to other countries, cultures, and styles of illustration. And I'm very happy about that.
One.) HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!
Two.) I always looked forward to the well thumbed Saturday Evening Post arriving after our mailman had read it! I loved the illustrations and the stories that the pictures told.
Three.) At one time, I had that album! So very cool. And I bought it because of the cover. I wouldn't have discovered Al Cooper or Mike Bloomfield without it.
Hello and thanks for your greetings and comment. I must say it seems the weirdest of collisions that Rockwell would paint portraits of those two. On the other hand apparently Bowie wanted to use him for an album cover too - Young Americans I think. But wasn't prepared to wait for 6 months for Rockwell to get round to it.
His self portrait at 12:45 appears to show smoke coming out of his trash bin. Perhaps it is a visual allusion to his studio fire.
Hello and thanks for the comment. I hadn't noticed that.
thank you dear author for such interesting channel and your clear pronunciation - as for non English speaker its a pearl in the ocean
Hello and many thanks for your appreciation. I'm glad you find my English clearly spoken. If it helps you can always use the subtitles in your language too.
A far more talented artist than almost any you will see in any modern gallery nowadays..
Absolutely - and Rockwell himself was eloquent about the subject of most modern art with his picture of a businessman looking at a Pollock-y abstract. Very funny.
@@petebeard Yes I also made notice of the one with the suited guy painted realistically looking at abstract art :D :D
One of the greatest artist/illustrators.
No argument from me on that score. Thanks for the comment.
I love him, he rises above petty critisism.
Hello and well said.
He was an artistic genius.
No argument from me about that.
Excellent video. Rockwell made the iconic images that anyone can identify as the true Americana.
Hello and I dont think anyone did it quite as well.
His picture of the young soldier coming home will always be one of my favorites.
Hello and my own is the businessman viewed from behind looking at a Jackson Pollock styled abstract in a gallery.
Very prolific Artist. ....
Very true - and don't forget impossibly talented.
A wonderful artist. I have always loved his work.
So that's you, me and millions of others I'm glad to say. Critics understand nothing.
Ohe cover Rockwell did for the Post in the 1950's (I think ) created a bit of a fuss. Rockwell painted an old New England fisherman carrying a wooden crate with open slats, with a topless Mermaid coyly smiling inside the crate.The slates and one of her arms were posed just enough to give the Mermaid some modesty. I think most people wouldn't blink and eye if they saw it today, but not back then!
Hello and I missed that image completely in my research for the video. A pity as i'd have included it. Oh well...
Thanks Pete, again, well told and presented. I still remember the excitement of my first encounter with Rockwell - though I love his earlier, less photographic-looking work best, (such as the Yankee Doodle Dandy mural).
Hello again and my thanks as ever. In my own case I admire his work immensely but struggle to actually like it. A little bit of subversion would help in that regard.
@@petebeard I can understand that. For myself, the more photographic looking it became the less punch it had. But I don't mind the sentimental Americana... much.
Norman has been a big inspiration for my artwork lately same with john falter or leyendecker, the quailty of their backgrounds to realistic yet simplistic shape break downs of anatomy and humans is easy to follow, and the painting style is just mesmerizing, thank you norman for being mentors for young artists everywhere :]
Side story: its also helping me and my grandmother who is 98 bond over something we share in common which is the love for saturday evening post, 💕
Hello and thanks for your comment. It's great that you are inspired by these monumental figures.
Excellent video. Thanks for making it. Good music choice too.
Edit: I'm now subscribed! Can't believe the amount of videos you've made about midcentury art. Looking forward to pouring thru your catalogue.
Hello and thanks a lot for your comment. And yet more thanks for your subscription - I need all the support for the channel I can get.
If you're going to draw inspiration from anyone, JC Leyendecker is a damned good choice. Such a free put precise hand, in a really cool style.
Hello and I agree. I always felt a bit - but only a bit - sorry for Leyendecker having to watch Rockwell outdo his own earlier success.
The greatest tragedy was the Leyendecker legacy getting broken up, instead of installed in some kind of insturte for safe keeping. But I guess at least it didn't burn up in a fire. The Gods reminding the artists that creation is ephemeral.
Needs no help from you. And yet this is still probably the best introduction on TH-cam.
Hello again and thanks a lot for the positive response.
I cannot imagine how he managed to create the complexity and detail of his work, far more beautifully than any photograph or AI image.
Thanks for your appreciation, and I agree totally with your appraisal of his talent. AI my backside...
Nobody remembers the names of the critics, but everybody knows his name.
Very true. Thanks for the comment.
@@petebeard Please keep up the great work. As artist/graphic designers, my wife and I love this series.
Love anything to do with Rockwell. Another great video Pete!
Hi again and thanks for th comment. Glad you enjoyed it.
Normal Rockwell truly was an American treasure
Agreed!
As soon as I seen the thumbnail I rushed to watch it. I seen illustrators make photographic quality art but it's missing something, a rare quality that every so slightly skewed realism to give it emotion in every stoke. That is Norman Rockwell to me.
Hello and thanks for the comment. I think it's that 'skewed' aspect that gives his work the viewable quality it has. More human than most.
It’d be nice if there are documentaries on his process
Hello and maybe there are. I wouldn't have a clue where to begin as I've never ever used oil paint. It's all a mystery to me.
@@petebeard great vid regardless
I saw one on TH-cam a couple of years ago that showed some of his methods and had nice bits of his son talking about him too.
I wonder if Hector Rondón Lovera’s photo ‘Aid from the Padre’ was used as reference for the picture in 9:34
Hello and I was completely unaware of this photo. And it looks very much like Rockwell must have known about it. He did take his own posed photo for reference too but the similarities are too great to be ignored. Well spotted.
From 00:08:23 - 27? The girl outside the principal's office is very large in real life...about four feet high and three feet wide. that particular painting was a gift from normal to Mr Walter Elias Disney. And, when I saw it at the Disney studios, mid to late 1970s, I marveled at how thick the paint was that Norman had applied --- as if gobs of oatmeal with a spoon. P.s. the fire in his studios? One theory: he had dumped smoldering tobacco into a trashcan at the end of his day. to quote the Bard of Avon, "Smoking pipe tobacco doth make an ash of us all!"
(Notice: I didn't use the name " Shakespeare".) Respectfully submitted for your consideration Gregg Oreo Long Beach Ca Etats Unis
Hi Gregg and thanks for your comment and insight. I've never had the pleasure (and probably never will) of seeing an actual Rockwell painting. Ho hum...
@@petebeard thank you Sir for your kind reply. What struck me most was the huge size of Rockwell's canvas dimensions. But. (Maybe two years later) I was commissioned to paint a cover for a children's coloring book. With Rockwell in mind, my choice for canvas size was not 1 foot by 2 feet, nor was it 2 × 3, but his 3 foot by 4. I was amazed by how "freeing " the larger approach made my work and, now that I recall the process: the "larger size" accorded me the chance to A.) Step back farther and B.) "See" the work from a farther vantage point for more charity's sake in appraising the painting's progress. C.) The only pitfall is: when one is painting on the rim of the Grand Canyon... I have still to recover from being excavated by Trail Donkey Paramedics. (I joke of course). I was "helicopter-ed" out. 😃respectfully yours Gregg Oreo Long Beach Ca Etats Unis
He was, HE CERTAINLY WAS, an artist.
Yes indeed.
very interesting take. some of his works were quiet amazing. I liked the soldier sitting behind the machine gun.
Hello and thanks. I hadn't come across that particular image before making the video. I really like it too.
@@petebeard it was pretty photo-realistic.
I noticed that many artists I like, call themselves 'craftsmen'. Norman Rockwell, M.C. Escher, Anton Pieck.
Hello and you certainly picked a trio of greats there. i thnink the problem I have with the term 'artist' these days is it tends to conjure up a mental image of some charlatan or other throwing paint at a canvas, or exhibiting an unmade bed. It didn't used to be the case.
My very favorite ARTIST ❤
Hello and I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Nice! Rockwell rocks!
This is very true.
A fellow artist told me of being in a museum in Boston several decades ago. He was in a room with several Rembrandts. Like all Artists, he was wondering if his own work would ever sell for millions of dollars or wind up in a museum.
He looked around and saw Norman Rockwell who, he assumed, was studying the Rembrandts and having the same thoughts.
Best wishes from Vermont 🍁
Hello and thanks a lot for the anecdote.
I have a signed copy of road block. A friend of the family was a neighbour. As a graphic designer i have always loved his work.
Hello to you and thanks a lot for your comment. And I'm glad to say he's one of very few illustrators who actually gets the respect he deserves.
I love your work, Pete Beard. Love it!
Hello and your comment is of course sweet music to my ears. Many thanks for your support.
He's my favourite artist. None of the artists since Caravaggio had the drawing skills of this man, and certainly the emotional response his work produces is a locater and indicator of the integrity and character of the viewer - to the pure his work is beautiful and ingenious, to the corrupt it's sentimental and trite.
Hello and thanks a lot for your comment. And I agree wholeheartedly with your opinions about his work.
@@petebeard Thanks Pete. So glad you understand.
Замечательный художник и, я уверена, хороший человек.
Здравствуйте и большое спасибо за ваш комментарий. И вы абсолютно правы в отношении его работы и самого человека.