Norman Rockwell was an American artist born in 1894 who is best known for his illustrations for the Saturday Evening Post magazine. He had an early interest in art and began his career illustrating magazines as a teenager. Rockwell went on to publish 321 covers for the Saturday Evening Post over 47 years, becoming their most prolific cover artist. Some of his most famous paintings include a series called The Four Freedoms. Rockwell painted portraits of several US presidents and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 before his death in 1978 at age 84.

1. NORMAN ROCKWELL

2. 1894-1978 AMERICA’S MOST BELOVED ARTIST. BORN 1894 IN NEW YORK CITY. BECAME INTERESTED IN ART AT A VERY YOUNG AGE. ONE OF HIS FIRST DRAWINGS WAS A CARDBOARD RECREATION OF A FLEET OF SHIPS FROM THE SPANISH –AMERICAN WAR FOR CHILDHOOD NAVAL BATTLES . AT 16, ROCKWELL ATENDED ART SCHOOL PART TIME.

3. EARLY YEARS BY THE AGE OF 17(1911), ROCKWELL PUBLISHED HIS FIRST ILLUSTRATIONS. BY 19, ROCKWELL BECOMES THE FIRST ART DIRECTOR FOR BOY’S LIFE MAGAZINE(PUBLISHED BY THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA). HE PAINTS AND ILLUSTRATES ONE STORY EACH ISSUE.

4. MOTHER’S DAY OFF FIRST ROCKWELL SATURDAY EVENING POST COVER APPEARS, “MOTHERS DAY OFF”. HE WAS HIRED FULL TIME AND ENJOYED A LONG CAREER WORKING FOR THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. HIS FIRST YEAR WORKING FOR THE POST HE WAS PUBLISHED ON 8 OF THE 12 COVERS. DURING HIS LIFE, ROCKWELL PUBLISHED A TOTAL OF 321 COVERS IN 47 YEARS.

5. ROCKWELL MATURES AT 22, NORMAN SELLS 2 PAINTINGS($75 EACH) AND GETS COMMISSIONED FOR AN ADDITIONAL 3 SKETCHES. HE CALLS UP AND PROPOSES TO IRENE O’CONNOR(THINGS DID NOT WORK OUT THOUGH). AT 24 HE IS DETERMINED TO JOIN THE WAR EFFORT BUT NEEDS TO PUT ON 15 POUNDS. HE EATS DONUTS, BANANAS AND WATER TO PASS THE PHYSICAL AND JOIN THE NAVY.

6. TRIPLE SELF PORTRAIT ROCKWELL HAD 3 SONS BY HIS SECOND WIFE. 1930-HE MOVED THE FAMILY TO NEW ROCHELLE NEW YORK. IN 1935, HE VISITS MISSOURI TO ILLUSTRATE MARK TWAIN’S , “HUCKLEBERRY FINN AND THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN”.

7. THE FOUR FREEDOMS

8. AFTER THE FOUR FREEDOMS ROCKWELL TRIES TO SELL THE PRINTS TO THE GOVERNMENT WITHOUT SUCCESS. THE NEW YORK POST PUBLISHES THEM THEY BECAME SOME OF HIS MOST FAMOUS PAINTINGS

9. THE GOLDEN RULE IN HIS LATER YEARS ROCKWELL DREW MORE SERIOUS PICTURES ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS AND VALUES.

10. BEFORE THE SHOT HE WAS COMMISSIONED TO PAINT PORTRAITS OF PRESIDENTS INCLUDING EISENHOWER, KENNEDY,NIXON AND FOREIGN DIGNITARIES. ONE OF HIS LAST WORKS WAS A POTRAIT OF JUDY GARLAND( DORTHY IN THE WIZARD OF OZ). IN 1977, ROCKWELL WAS AWARDED THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM( THE HIGHEST CIVILIAN HONOR). NORMAN ROCKWELL DIED OF EMPHYSEMA AT THE AGE OF 84 (1978).

11. OUR PROJECT DESIGN YOUR OWN SATURDAY EVENING POST COVER CAN USE ONE OF NORMAN ROCKWELL’S THEMES OR COME UP WITH YOUR OWN.

12. SANTA AT THE MAP

13. THE SNOWBALL FIGHT

14. DEADMAN’S HILL

15. SANTA’S CHILDREN

16. GRAMPS AND THE SNOWMAN

17. NEWSTAND IN THE SNOW