Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,History & Criticism
Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People Details
Amazon.com Review This richly illustrated book brings together 14 essays by such luminaries as former Metropolitan Museum of Art director Thomas Hoving and art historian Robert Rosenblum, and finally and firmly anchors Rockwell's reputation in the art-historical world. The catalog of an exhibition at Atlanta's High Museum of Art, the book's 133 color reproductions are marvelously large, clear, and true in color and offer what is probably the best introduction to Rockwell for anyone who takes his illustration seriously--or anyone who doesn't, yet. Indispensable though it may be, however, Pictures for the American People may slightly irritate lifelong Rockwell fans, especially those who grew up with the Saturday Evening Post and fell for Rockwell at a time when his nonpareil illustrations were mocked by the moderns. And experienced Rockwell lovers probably have on their shelves the huge 1970 work by Thomas S. Buechner, then director of the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Norman Rockwell: Artist and Illustrator, which was the first comprehensive look at this uniquely American master. Ah, well. It's about time the art world came to its senses and began to appreciate the genius and the subtlety of a painter who looked to both Chardin and N.C. Wyeth as masters. Rockwell's great works are here: Rosie the Riveter, The Four Freedoms, After the Prom, Breaking Home Ties, The Gossips, and scores of others that celebrate (and poke the gentlest of fun at) small-town, family life. There were other illustrators of Rockwell's ilk during the '40s and '50s, his most popular decades, but as Steven Heller writes in "Rebelling Against Rockwell," "Rockwell ran one step ahead of cliché, while his acolytes lagged a mile behind." --Peggy Moorman Read more From School Library Journal YA-This collection of essays forms the catalog of the exhibition of Rockwell's work traveling to seven U.S. cities. It explores the artist's goals, achievements, and legacy as well as his role and stature in American art. Some essays effuse praise, some give anecdotal yet enlightening information about Rockwell's subjects, and some offer in-depth, scholarly analyses of his works. Because the book presents writings by a variety of curators and critics, information is repeated and often opinions are flatly contradicted. The variety of interpretations of Rockwell's style and work shows a complexity in a collection often viewed as simple and sentimental. Even so, the book's true strength lies in the 133 full-color plates and illustrations that document Rockwell's progress as illustrator, painter, and storyteller. A delight for casual observers and students of art and art history.Vivien Jewell, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more From Library Journal Excellent writing is the hallmark of this catalog of an upcoming exhibit, traveling throughout the country for the next several years. Fourteen essays by art historians and academics address broad themes, specific issues (such as school desegregation), and the critical fortunes of Rockwell's work--without preconceptions or prejudgments. Like Rockwell's art itself, the catalog is clearly organized and accessible, and like his art, the essays are thoughtful and repay close reading. Although brief, these essays are also of uniformly high quality. Icon that he was, it is now possible to look at Rockwell's work in historical context; this book, edited by two museum curators, succeeds thoroughly in this regard. An outstanding companion to Norman Rockwell: 332 Magazine Covers, which reproduced all of his Saturday Evening Post covers, this is highly recommended for general and art historical collections.-Jack Perry Brown, Art Inst. of Chicago Lib. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more From Booklist Even if you think there are already enough Norman Rockwell books, by all means look at this accompaniment to a major touring exhibition of Rockwell's art--incredibly enough, the first--that travels for two years from Atlanta to Chicago, Washington, San Diego, Phoenix, back to the artworks' home in the Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Connecticut, and then to the Guggenheim in New York. Not only are plenty of the paintings nicely reproduced, but 14 essays (one by Rockwell's sculptor son, Peter) discuss the artist, his appeal and influence, and particular paintings, such as, especially well, The Connoisseur, in which a businessman looks at a very passable imitation Jackson Pollock abstraction. The aura of the whole project is not trendily "retro" but respectful and attentive to the issues of popular as opposed to critically approved art. Ray Olson Read more From the Publisher Publicity: 1-hour television special on Norman Rockwell to air on public television this fall Promotion: Featured in Abrams' 50th-anniversary celebration Subsidiary Rights:A Main Selection of Book-of-the-Month Club and an Alternate Selection of Quality Paperback Book Club Maureen Hart Hennessey is chief curator at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Anne Knutson, guest curator at the High Museum in Atlanta, has taught at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. The contributors include: Thomas Hoving, Robert Rosenblum, Judy L. Larson, Karal Ann Marling, Neil Harris, Robert Coles, Wanda Corn, Steven Heller, Dave Hickey, And Peter Rockwell, son of the artist. Exhibition Schedule High Museum of Art, Atlanta Nov. 6, 1999-Jan. 30, 2000 Chicago Historical Society Feb. 26-May 21, 2000 Upcoming venues through 2002: The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. San Diego Museum of Art Phoenix Art Museum The Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Read more
Reviews
There is an abundance of books on Norman Rockwell's art. Not knowing what the other ones are like, for this book I, however, can say that it is a very good and informative look at this great American artist. The printing is high quality, and the writers analyzing the man's works give added perspective to his paintings and the artist's ideas behind their subject matter. Most of the best known works are included, also many such paintings that, at least for me, have been completely unknown until now. As the prices for this book at the Amazon also seem to be very affordable, this should be a really good buy for anyone interested in this truly original artist, in whose works something very, very essential of the American culture has been preserved.