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Norman Rockwell: The Underside of Innocence Review

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(More customer reviews)While Norman Rockwell's paintings are generally seen as imagery of all-American virtues, values, individuals, and scenes, the John Hopkins English professor Halpern sees them as "more challenging and complex" than even the most sophisticated critics have imagined in the recent revival of interest in Rockwell; which revival has mostly reaffirmed the general regard of his paintings. Halpern looks to Rockwell's famous painting "Triple Self-Portrait" for indication--and in a way confession--that there was more to Rockwell's paintings than is realized from the first impressions of their imagery and recognition and often identification with their subjects. Rockwell's insistent, undying "jokey inventiveness," evidenced more directly in his autobiography "My Adventures as An Illustrator," is seen in the often overlooked details of his paintings. The woman in "Rosie the Riveter" celebrating American women's role in the war effort of WWII has Irish facial features which identify her with the ethnic and working classes, not the middle-class matrons, businessmen, and shop owners who see their mainstream, traditional values represented by Rockwell. Also, Rosie's muscular arms go against the typical image of women as slender and in need of male protection. Halpern similarly interprets details of other paintings to find symbols or intimations of homosexuality, voyeurism, and other sexually-laden topics. Halpern does not go so far as to make Rockwell out to be lascivious or meanly subversive. The author does, however, argue and abundantly demonstrate the point that Rockwell's paintings are more complex, more Freudian, than this painter openly admitted to and than nearly all viewers realize.

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Norman Rockwell (First Books--Biographies) Review

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(More customer reviews)Rockwell's life story is a fascinating read, and this book features numerous beautiful, full-color reproductions of his work. The author makes a persuasive case for Rockwell as a genius whose work endures throught the decades, and it's an inspiring story for readers of all ages.

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Norman Rockwell Review

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(More customer reviews)The book is small, but the illustrations still are reproduced extremely well. The essay alone is worth every penny. If you feel uneasy about your love for the work of Norman Rockwell, this book will give you the courage to like what you really like, without any more appologies. Buy it, read it, enjoy. You will, I guarantee.

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50 Norman Rockwell Favorites Review

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(More customer reviews)I have to agree with the previous reviewer that this book represents exceptional value. If you just want to look at the book then these prints are more than large enough for clear and detailed viewing. If you wanted to take the book apart and use them as wall prints they are also large enough for that. I am going to laminate them for use in my US History class.
Two complaints: This is one of those art books that won't work well on a shelf. It's very tall and a little thin, so if there isn't good support it's going to get folded. The other thing is only a problem if you want to use them as posters. The picture information is printed on the left hand page of each print. If you want to look at it as a book that works out perfect. If you want to use them as posters it means that what is printed on the back of each print is information that belongs to another print. I'm pretty sure the publishers weren't worried about people tearing the pages up.

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Norman Rockwell: Storyteller With A Brush Review

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(More customer reviews)To her string of biographies of famous people, Beverly Gherman has added another winner with Norman Rockwell, Storyteller With A Brush. While it is written for and marketed to young readers, this easy read will inform, delight and inspire anyone of any age with a curiosity about what makes great people tick, and how they got to be great. A passion for his art is an added bonus, as the book is sprinkled generously with Rockwell illustrations. It's also a walk down memory lane for history buffs, for Rockwell did indeed capture the story of American culture and history from the first World War into the late sixties.
Gherman does a great job getting behind the scenes. We learn about Rockwell's childhood in New York City and, in summers, on a farm, and his very early realization that he loved to draw, and had a gift. She treats us to photographs of Rockwell at work, whether in a drawing class sketching a model or working in his own studio. What jumps out is not just Rockwell's innate talent but his tremendously hard work to improve his craft. Equally tenacious was his initiative in bringing his work to market, or, one might say, creating a market for his work. We can feel his powerful ambition as a young illustrator to break into the big times - of which the cover of the Saturday Evening Post was the epitome. We can feel his nervousness and anticipation as he waits in the lobby of that magazine's head office in Philadelphia for an art editor to review the three paintings he had brought with him from New York. Finally, we imagine his joy when they buy his work on the spot and commission additional covers, starting a nearly half century long relationship and the seemingly endless series that became his hallmark.
It is difficult to imagine an artist, throughout his career, spending more time on understanding his subjects than Rockwell. Gherman tells the story of his exploration in 1935 of Mark Twain's hometown, Hannibal, Missouri, to help him prepare to illustrate Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. He even bought worn clothes from farmers for pants and overalls, then hired models to wear them while he painted.
We watch as Rockwell decides to leave the Post in 1963, after almost fifty years, to try something new at nearly seventy years of age. He reveled in painting more contemporary, as opposed to historical subjects, now for Look Magazine. Thus we are the beneficiaries of another stream of his sketches and paintings, this one documenting the space program, integration, the fight against poverty and other social issues and developments.
Finally, we respect the admiration his hometown expresses with a parade only a couple of years before his death, and his determination to continue painting as long as possible; and we puzzle at the relative lack of contemporary acclaim art critics bestowed.
Gherman has done reading audiences a great service in presenting the life of this fascinating artist in such a compelling format.

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Norman Rockwell 332 Magazine Covers Review

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(More customer reviews)If you can only have one Norman Rockwell book, look no further. This is the quintessential Norman Rockwell. You can spend hours and hours looking at the illustrations and still not fully grasp all the subtle nuances - like the cameo paintings within the painting; the relections in the mirror; the advertisements in the folded newspapers; and so on. I have only found one inconsistency. In "The Clock Mender" some areas in the painting make an abrupt departure from his trademark quasi-realistic style. It reminds me of Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon". Was Rockwell cleverly introducing "Surrealism" into this particular painting, in an inverted Salvador Dali sort of way? Or was the original painting simply damaged and then retouched by someone else? It would make delightful reading if Mr Finch, or anyone else, could offer an explanation.
From Kelvin

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This full-sized album of Saturday Evening Post covers captures everyday events and historic moments in American history.Although technically Norman Rockwell was an academic painter, he had the eye of a photographer and, as he became a mature artist, he used this eye to give us a picture of America that was famliar—astonishingly so—and at the same time unique. Rockwell best expressed this vision of America in his justly famous cover illustrations for magazines like The Saturday Evening Post. 332 of these cover paintings, from beloved classics like "Marbles Champion" to lesser-known gems like "Feeding Time," are reproduced in stunning full color in this large-format volume, which is sure to be treasured by art lovers everywhere.

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Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this book after reading David Kamp's review in the November 2009 issue of Vanity Fair, which also has good background information on Rockwell. I suggest reading that article for a lot more information than I will provide here.
The book itself discusses the photographic process Rockwell used to plan his paintings. It includes interviews with models and a lot of background information on the technical processes used.
This all turns out to be much more interesting than it might sound. One can see exactly which details Rockwell kept and discarded from the photographs. Of particular interest is how important each detail in the photos is, and the extent to which Rockwell worked to get them right.
There is also some interesting commentary on the social milieu and attitudes of the time. Rockwell in some ways was conciously creating an American mythos, but it was a mythos very grounded in actual fact.
Some of the original paintings or covers are reproduced in a small format (and sometimes not at all) but these are generally easy to find elsewhere, so it is not a serious flaw.
All in all, this was a thought-provoking and educational book that is sure to increase readers' understanding and appreciation both of Rockwell and of painting generally.

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Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera is the first book to explore the meticulously composed and richly detailed photographs that Norman Rockwell used to create his famous artworks. Working alongside skilled photographers, Rockwell acted as director, carefully orchestrating models, selecting props, and choosing locations for the photographs--works of art in their own right--that served as the basis of his iconic images. Readers will be surprised to find that many of his most memorable characters-the girl at the mirror, the young couple on prom night, the family on vacation-were friends and neighbors who served as his amateur models.In this groundbreaking book, author and historian Ron Schick delves into the archive of nearly 20,000 photographs housed at the Norman Rockwell Museum. Featuring reproductions of Rockwell's black-and-white photographs and related full-color artworks, along with an incisive narrative and quotes from Rockwell models and family members, this book will intrigue anyone interested in photography, art, and Americana.

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