"The Fireman, Study for Saturday Evening Post Cover" Lot no. 2603
By Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
1944
14.00" x 11.00", Framed 22.00" x 19.00"
Oil and Graphite on Paperboard
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Study for the May 27th, 1944 Saturday Evening Post Cover
Magazine included
Perhaps the only painting to have been inspired by an antique gilt frame, this engaging work by American illustrator Norman Rockwell is pure humor. Displaying Rockwell's remarkable talent for capturing the true character of his subjects, the work exudes all of the appeal and absurdity for which Rockwell's oeuvre is so loved. The dynamic work is a well-executed preliminary study for Rockwell's May 27, 1944 cover of the Saturday Evening Post, one which he gifted to the stern-faced model of the work, Howard Lewis, who proved to have the perfect face for Rockwell's vision.
The painting was conceived in an antique's store after Rockwell stumbled upon a rather remarkable frame carved with axes, hoses, ladders, and other tools of firefighting. Immediately inspired, Rockwell set out to fill the unique frame with the perfect sitter. Howard Lewis of Dodd, Mead and Company, a pioneer New York publishing house, met Rockwell at a publishing party a short time later, and Rockwell, immediately struck by Lewis' old-fashioned look, invited the man back to this studio, where he dressed him in a turn-of-the-century uniform, complete with bushy mustache. For purely comedic effect, Rockwell finished the work with a stiffly disapproving glare, aimed at the lit cigar beneath the painting for a clever picture-within-picture effect. So thankful was Rockwell for Lewis' assistance that he gifted to Lewis this oil study for the resulting cover of the Saturday Evening Post.
For over seven decades, Norman Rockwell captured the attention of millions of Americans with his 322 Saturday Evening Post cover illustrations. Each week, Americans brought his art into the intimate space of their homes, engraining Rockwell's images into the cultural narrative of the country. This humorous work exudes the Americana charm of Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post works, which have come to embody the values of their era.
Rockwell tapped into the nostalgia of the American people and his ability to create visual stories that expressed the desires of a nation helped to clarify and, in a sense, create that nation's vision. While history was in the making all around him, Rockwell chose to fill his canvases with the small details and nuances of ordinary people in everyday life. Taken together, his many paintings capture the essence of the American spirit. "I paint life as I would like it to be," Rockwell once said. Mythical, idealistic, and innocent, his paintings evoke a longing for a time and place that existed in his rich imagination and in the hopes and aspirations of the nation.
Explore related art collections: Men / Magazine Covers / $100,000 & Above / Studies / 1940s / Humor / Saturday Evening Post Covers / Work / Labor
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
The pictures of Norman Perceval Rockwell (1894-1978) were recognized and enjoyed by almost everybody in America. The cover of The Saturday Evening Post was his showcase for over forty years, giving him an audience larger than that of any other artist in history. Over the years, he depicted there a unique collection of Americana, a series of vignettes of remarkable warmth and humor. In addition, he painted a great number of pictures for story illustrations, advertising campaigns, posters, calendars and books.
As his personal contribution during World War II, Rockwell painted the famous “Four Freedoms” posters, symbolizing for millions the war aims as described by President Franklin Roosevelt. One version of his “Freedom of Speech” painting is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Rockwell left high school to attend classes at the National Academy of Design, and later studied under Thomas Fogarty and George Bridgeman at the Art Students League in New York. His two greatest influences were the completely opposite titans Howard Pyle and J.C Leyendecker.
His early illustrations were done for St. Nicholas magazine and other juvenile publications. He sold his first cover painting to the Post in 1916, and ended up doing over 300 more. Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson sat for him for portraits, and he painted other world figures, including Nassar of Egypt and Nehru of India.
An important museum has been established in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where he maintained his studio. Each year, tens of thousands visit the largest collection of his original paintings extant.