Norman Rockwell Prints - Artist Biography

Normal Rockwell is undoubtedly one of the most beloved American artists of all time. His paintings and prints are recognizable to virtually everyone, and even if you've never seen a particular Rockwell painting before, you will likely recognize it as his work at once. PosterCheckOut is proud to carry a wide range of Rockwell prints that will look great on your home or office walls.
Normal Rockwell: an American Icon
Norman Rockwell was born in New York City in 1894. He knew he wanted to be an artist from a very young age, and began his formal training at the age of 14 at the New York School of Art. After furthering his studies at the National Academy of Design and at the Art Students League, Rockwell took his talents into the real world and began his career as a commerc
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ial artist.
Rockwell was successful as an artist from the very beginning. His first commission (for a set of Christmas cards) was secured when he was only 15 years old, and he was even hired as an art director for the Boy Scouts' publication Boy's Life while he was still in his teenage years. Rockwell moved with his family to New Rochelle, New York at age 21, and here he came into contact with artists such as Howard Chandler Christy and J.C. and Frank Leyendecker.
At the age of 22, Rockwell was hired to paint his first cover for The Saturday Evening Post. He would continue to work for the magazine for an extraordinary 47 years, producing over 300 cover paintings. A distinctly American artist, Rockwell was a master at capturing the innocence and excitement of life in the United States.
Early Life of Norman Rockwell
Norman Rockwell, born in 1894, was a well known American painter. People have forever known him for his paintings and illustrations that often reflected American culture. He was born in the city of New York. Since his childhood, he knew what he wanted to be. Moving a step ahead in pursuing his dream to become an artist, he joined art classes at a mere age of 14 years. The New York Art School, which was known then as Art Chase School at that time, helped in laying a firm foundation in his artistic career and paved way for some more knowledge in the field. He left his high school in 1910 so as to study at “The National Academy of Design” and later on joined the Arts Students League. In this way he found success early. By the time he was 21 years; he had established a studio and was working with many magazines.
It was in 1916 that he married his model Irene O’Conner. Irene had modeled for Rockwell in “Mother Tucking Children into Bed”. It was his first marriage but soon they both parted ways and got divorced in 1930. Rockwell was saddened by this and he became depressed. He decided to move to California. There he painted the best of his paintings like “The Doctor and the Doll”. While in California, Rockwell met Mary Barstow, a school teacher, whom he married in 1930. After their marriage, the couple came back to New York. Out of this marriage, three children were born: Peter Barstow, Thomas Rhodes and Jarvis Waring.
Later on Rockwell and his family moved to Arlington, Vermont and Stockbridge, Massachusetts in 1939 and 1953, respectively. Six years after coming to Stockbridge, Mary his second wife died due to a heart attack in 1959. Rockwell was grieved and took some time off from the work. During this time, he along with his son Thomas penned his autobiography. In 1960 his autobiography “My Adventures” was published. In 1961, he married a retired English teacher of Milton Academy named Mary Leete Punderson. In 1977, due to ill health, Rockwell who was concerned about his studio decided to place it with the trust called Old Corner House. A year later, Rockwell breathed his last and died of emphysema in Stockbridge at the age of 84. The Old Corner House is at present day known as Norman Rockwell Museum and boasts of the largest assortment of original works of Rockwell. Apart from that, the museum also contains Norman Rockwell Archives and other items.