Off Shore Muse

Rockwell Remembered

Norman Rockwell, although known in popular culture as a painter, never referred to himself as an artist, but rather as an illustrator. From behind the camera, he had the meticulous eye of a film director, as almost all of his works were traced from photographs.

Journalism 101

Circa 1946

In 1946, Norman Rockwell paid tribute to a great American institution: the country newspaper. His painting, which appeared in the May 25 issue, captured life in the office of the Monroe County Appeal of Paris, Missouri. It was accompanied by drawings of 76- year-old editor Jack Blanton with his staff of five, producing the weekly paper for its 3,000 subscribers. The photograph over the editor's desk is of B.F. Blanton, his father, who founded the paper. To the right is a Gold Star Flag that commemorates Jack's grandson who would have succeeded as editor if he had survived WWII. To the far right is the artist, himself, entering the editorial office. The Monroe County Appeal is still published today. In 1950, Jack explained the secret of the paper's survival to TIME magazine ..

You run a Tom, Dick and Harry paper, like I have for 60 years and you begin to see it's the warm and simple things that make the news people hunger for the most.

Jack Blanton

The Knothole

Circa 1958

Even the name, Norman Rockwell, looks like it's carved in wood!

On Leave

Circa 1945

Gone Fishing

Harmony (Swift's Baby Food)

Circa 1956

The Runaway

Circa 1958

The Plumbers

Circa 1951

Before the Shot

Circa 1958

Mistletoe and a Milky Way

Circa 1961

Henry Ford, the Boy Who Put the World on Wheels

Circa 1952

New Television Antenna

Circa 1949

A Little Boy Writing a Letter

Circa 1920

Country Boy Eating Corn

Circa 1945

Good Land

Circa 1916

Young Love

Circa 1949

Going and Coming

Circa 1947

Travel Experience

Circa 1944

Happy Birthday, Miss Jones

Circa 1956

Rockwell intended this particular painting to be a tribute to his own eighth-grade teacher who had encouraged him to draw. Gathering a local model and students, Rockwell used a real grammer school classroom in Stockbridge as his reference.

Marriage License

Circa 1955

Girl at Mirror

Circa 1954

Saying Grace

Circa 1951

The 2013 sale of Saying Grace for $46 million (including buyer's premium) established a new record price for an original Rockwell painting.

Choirboy

Circa 1954

Family Grace

Circa 1938

The Soda Jerk

Circa 1953

Rockwell brought his son, Peter and a group of classmates from Putney, Vermont to be photographed modeling for The Soda Jerk. The idea was based on Peter's own experience manning soda fountains for a summer job. Rockwell had each of his subjects photographed individually and combined them for the final composition, placing them in a setting assembled from photographs taken in a nearby diner.