NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978)

Norman Rockwell led a very long and incredibly successful career as an artist. His first commission was painted when he was only 16 and his irresistible paintings of American life made him the American illustrator of the 20th century. Rockwell said himself, “Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed.” Painting poignant pictures that graced the covers of Literary Digest, The Saturday Evening Post, American, Life, Country Gentleman, and Look magazines, Rockwell’s distinguished career earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977, the highest honor bestowed upon an American civilian.