Norman Rockwell - King of the Visual Message

Norman always wanted to be an artist. As a young boy, he loved listening to his father’s stories. As a teenager, he became so focused on becoming an artist that he left high school to join the Art Student League School. He received his first commission job at age 17 and became the art editor forBoy’s Life magazine by age 19. One of his paintings, “Boy with Baby Carriage”, became so popular that The Saturday Evening Post hired him. He would make 321 covers during his 47 years with the company and his appreciation for American scenes would prolong his career as an illustrator long after.

“Right from the beginning, I strived to capture everything I saw as completely as possible.” - Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell’s depiction of simple everyday American life was welcomed with open arms. His paintings were simple and charming, with a touch of humor.

“I unconsciously decided that, even if it wasn't an ideal world, it should be. So I painted only the ideal aspects of it - pictures in which there are no drunken slatterns or self-centered mothers... only foxy grandpas who played baseball with the kids and boys who fished from logs and got up circuses in the backyard.” - Norman Rockwell

His paintings were a refreshing change from the somewhat harsh realities of life and when he did paint about the more serious issue of the day, he did so in an inspiring way, always looking to uplift his audience. Such was the case with his series of paintings called The Four Freedoms which included: Freedom from Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear. He has been called “the great painter of American virtues” but the fact was that he simply mirrored the ideals of the middle-class American and gave it back to them. In short, he was the king of visual messaging. He didn’t paint reality,  he brought you to a mental place - emotionally.

Does your marketing imagery bring your customer closer to buying from you, or are they just pretty pictures?

Morty Silber, CEO

Mad Strategies Inc.
a Wizard of Ads Partner