Slice of Americana: Google Logo Tribute to Artist Norman Rockwell’s 116th Birthday
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on February 3, 2010
Google logo today commemorates American artist Norman Rockwell's 116th birthday
A beautifully poignant Google logo of a boy and girl, with the boy wrapping his arm shyly around the girl’s waist as they watch the sunset, graces Google’s homepage logo today. This piece of artwork, “Sunset” (also called “The Young Spooners”) was featured on the April 24, 1926 cover of Saturday Evening Post. It was created by Norman Rockwell, beloved and prolific American artist — the Google logo doodle commemorates Rockwell’s 116th birthday. The setting sun in the illustration replaces the second “O” in the Google logo.
From Encyclopedia of World Biography:
Norman Rockwell’s heartwarming illustrations of American life appeared on covers of the Saturday Evening Post magazine for many years. When people use the expression “as American as apple pie,” they could just as well say “as American as a Norman Rockwell painting.”
Norman Perceval Rockwell was born on February 3, 1894, in New York City, the first of Jarvis Waring Rockwell and Nancy Hill’s two sons. His father worked for a textile firm, starting as office boy and eventually moving up to manager of the New York office. His parents were very religious, and the young Rockwell sang in the church choir. Until he was about ten years old the family spent its summers at farms in the country. Rockwell recalled in his autobiography (the story of his own life) My Adventures as an Illustrator, “I have no bad memories of my summers in the country.” He believed that these summers “had a lot to do with what I painted later on.”
Rockwell enjoyed drawing at an early age and soon decided he wanted to be an artist. During his freshman year in high school, he also attended the Chase School on Saturdays to study art. Later that year he attended Chase twice a week. Halfway through his sophomore year, he quit high school and went full time to art school.
Rockwell’s talent was recognized by others while he was still in his teens. At only 15, he painted his first commission (four Christmas cards). Then, at 19, he was hired as the art director of Boys’ Life, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) publication. His first published magazine cover, Scout at Ship’s Wheel, appeared on Boys’ Life September 1913 edition.
In a previous post about Rockwell, I wrote:
One of the most prolific American artists ever was Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), who painted thousands of paintings during his lifetime. His homey, Americana paintings earned him the nickname “The People’s Painter,” and his poignant paintings graced numerous magazine covers over many decades. In addition to his beloved covers for Saturday Evening Post, Rockwell is also noted for his work for the Boy Scouts of America, producing covers for their publication Boys’ Life and other illustrations.
Rockwell could capture the most simple of images of everyday American life in a painting that spoke volumes. Attention to small details added depth and realism to his paintings, and whether he was showcasing our military, small-town families, or childhood events, he always told a story in each illustration. Rockwell’s last of 317 covers for Saturday Evening Post was featured on the December 1963 issue. He had provided illustrations for them for nearly five decades, but the magazine had decided to abandon paintings on its front cover. Rockwell continued to illustrate for other magazines, such as Look and McCall’s. His illustrations graced 55 Boys’ Life covers. Rockwell died on November 8, 1978.
Below is a wonderful illustration of a young, disheveled female student sporting a black eye, waiting for the principal. The look of triumph on her face is magnificent. I love the details Rockwell included in the painting of the school office. This is titled “The Shiner” and appeared on the May 3, 1953 cover of Saturday Evening Post.
Click the image to enlarge it.
Norman Rockwell's 'The Shiner', 1953 Saturday Evening Post
This next painting was the first of the “Four Freedoms” series Rockwell created during WWII. Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms series was first published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1943 during the height of the war. The Post published the paintings as a series after the United States government declined them. Because of the huge success of The Post articles, the US government changed its mind about Rockwell’s creations and the Office of War Information later issued the series as posters to help in selling war bonds. Many of these posters are still sold today. The other three in the series are “Freedom to Worship,” “Freedom from Want,” and “Freedom from Fear.” The four were published in The Post one after another in the weekly publication, with “Freedom of Speech” appearing first on February 20, 1943.
Click the image to enlarge it.
'Freedom of Speech' was one of four paintings in the series 'Four Freedoms' that Norman Rockwell created during WWII
This next Rockwell illustration celebrated the 100th year of baseball, and appeared on the cover of Saturday Evening Post on July 8, 1939.
Click the image to enlarge it.
Norman Rockwell's tribute to baseball on its 100th anniversary, published on the cover of Saturday Evening Post, July 8, 1939
This illustration, “A Scout Is Helpful,” appeared on the cover of Boys’ Life in 1941. It is of a Boy Scout carrying to safety a girl wrapped in a quilt during a flood rescue operation. Rockwell’s countless illustrations for Boy Scouts helped define the youth service organization.
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Rockwell's 'A Scout Is Helpful' appeared on the cover of Boys' Life magazine in 1941
To see more paintings by Rockwell, visit these earlier posts:
Thanksgiving Art… Artistic Tributes to Thanksgiving, America, and Our Military
Veterans Day Art Tribute: New Google Doodle Logo, Norman Rockwell Military Tributes
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