"Courting Couple at Midnight, Post Cover " Lot no. 4826
By Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
1919
24" x 19", Framed 33.5" x 27.75" x 3.25"
oil on canvas laid down on board
Signed Lower Right
REQUEST PRICE
PURCHASE REQUEST
Click any of the images above for additional views.
Cover of The Saturday Evening Post magazine, March 22, 1919
A young couple, caught up in the excitement of courtship, sits together as the clock strikes midnight. Bathed in the warm light of domestic intimacy, the young woman leans tenderly into her companion’s embrace, while the young man—torn between romance and responsibility—casts an anxious glance at the cuckoo clock. This small but significant detail signals the arrival of curfew, and in that instant, he longs to pause time and savor the fleeting moment.
Rockwell’s signature humor and precision shine through: the young man’s yellow carnation and unruly cowlick, the woman’s adoring gaze, and the urgent chime of the finely carved cuckoo clock. The floral wallpaper and patchwork pillow root the scene in a cozy, middle-class American home. Their attire—the young man’s watch chain, cufflink, and handkerchief, along with the young woman’s ruffled blouse and sheer sleeves—reflects the formality and ritual of early twentieth-century courtship.
Though firmly grounded in its era, this intimate moment—two young people lingering past curfew—transcends its setting to become a timeless story of young love and the wistfulness of passing time. The painting stands as a cherished example of Rockwell’s gift for finding beauty and meaning in everyday life.
Provenance
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, by 1972
Private collection, Hawaii
Sotheby's New York, March 1999, Lot 154 (label verso)
From a Private Collection
Literature
The Saturday Evening Post, March 22, 1919, cover illustration (©SEPS licensed by Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN. All rights reserved)
Thomas Buechner, Norman Rockwell: Artist & Illustrator, New York, 1970, illus. p. 68, fig. 113
Christopher Finch, Norman Rockwell's America, New York, 1975, p. 83, illus. pp. 84, 271
Dr. Donald Stoltz and Marshall L. Stoltz, Norman Rockwell and ‘The Saturday Evening Post:’ May 1916-July 1928, vol. I, New York, 1976, p. 35, illus. p. 36
Mary Moline, Norman Rockwell Encyclopedia: A Chronological Catalogue of the Artist's Work 1910-1978, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1979, illus. p. 37, fig. I-26 (as Courting Under the Clock at Midnight)
Laurie Norton Moffatt, Norman Rockwell: A Definitive Catalogue, vol. I, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 1986, no. C206, p. 79, illus. p. 78
Jan Cohn, Covers of “The Saturday Evening Post:" Seventy Years of Outstanding Illustration from America’s Favorite Magazine, New York, 1995, illus. p. 83
Exhibited
The Fort Lauderdale Museum of the Arts, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York
The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
McNay Art Institute, San Antonio, Texas
M.H. De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, California
Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana
Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska
Norman Rockwell: A Sixty Year Retrospective, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA, February 1972-April 1973
Hankyu Department Store, Osaka, Japan, April 4-9, 1975 (label verso)
Explore related art collections: $100,000 & Above / Saturday Evening Post Covers / Magazine Covers / Romance
See all original artwork by Norman Rockwell
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.