Course Sample for Our Everyday Easels Homeschool Art Appreciation Course
You can view After the Prom here as well as further information on Norman Rockwell.
Art
Norman Perceval Rockwell was born in New York City on February 3, 1894. He knew he always wanted to be an artist and began learning the technical skills to become an illustrator when he was just 14 years old. As a teenager, he was hired as an illustrator for Boys’ Life. He worked for several publications, including Life, and painted his first The Saturday Evening Post cover when he was 22 years of age. He then spent the next 47 years producing covers for this magazine. In 1963, Rockwell began working for Look and produced illustrations that dealt with civil rights, poverty, and space exploration.
Rockwell painted 321 covers for The Saturday Evening Post. Most of his illustrations depicted an ideal American life, but he also tackled political issues and significant moments in history like Charles Lindbergh’s crossing of the Atlantic in 1927. He portrayed Santa Claus many times, as well as hobos, boys playing, physicians, children, painters, historical figures, musicians, young people in love, and many other scenes. A gallery of his illustrations spanning the decades can be found on The Saturday Evening Post website.
Rockwell is one of the world’s most famous illustrators. An illustrator draws or paints pictures for use in magazines and books. Sometimes these illustrations are used in advertising. He is no less an artist than, say, Van Gogh or Monet. The difference is that most of his work is used in widely circulated publications instead of hanging on a museum wall. This particular piece, After the Prom, was on the cover of the May 25, 1957, Post.
Can you find illustrations in any publications (magazines, books, newspapers) you may have around your house? Try to find drawings or paintings instead of photography or computer graphics. What are the subjects of each of these illustrations? If you are permitted, cut these illustrations out and create a collage. Cut around the subject matter and then glue each to a piece of construction paper and give the entire collage a title.
Another project is to think like Norman Rockwell. Imagine something in life that is ideal. Perhaps, it is a family tradition or vacation. Perhaps, it is riding your bike outside or swimming in a lake. It can be humorous or serious. Try drawing this with colored pencil.
To view a full sample of this class, click here.
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