Well, of course Norman Rockwell. No assemblage of great artists is complete without him -- at least from an American point of view. He was and is tremendously popular, and with good reason. He put definite and precise images to the vague concepts of the American dream and ideal image of itself.Rockwell portrayed an idyllic America that the nation yearned for itself. A continent-sized collection of Mayberrys with white picket fences and men and women who rescued the world three times in Rockwell's lifetime.
He was the artist of America, and the artist of children. Youth dominates his subject matter, for his America is one that nurtures the happiness and maturity of its young.
Yet he did not shy away from addressing real problems in our fabled paradise, such as the specter of racism.
But above all, Rockwell gave America the image of what it should strive to be. If we're going somewhere, it's handy to have a picture of where we're going (or trying to). That destination is Norman Rockwell's America.
Image: "Top Hat and Tails"
UPDATE: Link added to ARC's bio and gallery for Rockwell.
1 comment:
That's a good picture. Rockwell considered FDR to be a great leader and created that painting in a series reflecting Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms" speech.
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