An American painter and illustrator known for his iconic depictions of American culture, Norman Rockwell's favourite subjects included nuclear families, mischievous children and small-town life, and his work has achieved a status that has proved enduring far beyond his own lifetime. Born in New York City in 1894, he knew from the age of fourteen that he wanted to be an artist, leaving high school to study at the National Academy of Design before transferring to the Art Students League, where he learned the technical skills he relied upon throughout his long career.
His involvement with The Saturday Evening Post began in 1916, and over the following 47 years his work appeared 322 times on its cover. The 1930s and 1940s proved the most fruitful period of his career, with his success stemming largely from his careful appreciation for everyday American scenes, the warmth of small-town life in particular. He spent the last ten years of his career painting about civil rights, poverty and space exploration for Look magazine.
His paintings went on to inspire American directors including George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis, whose 1994 film Forrest Gump recreates several of Rockwell's paintings as scenes throughout the film. In 1977 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honour.
Photograph by Bain News Service via Wikimedia Commons
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