NORMAN ROCKWELL HD 1080p 

An artist friend of mine (whose style is nothing like Rockwell's) tells me Rockwell is underrated.. He's often dismissed as 'commercial,' but the fact is he's had an enormous impact on how millions of Americans see the American Dream.

His ability to create cartoonish, yet thoroughly realistic and engaging characters is just so much fun; thank you, as always.

Norman Rockwell can also be considered a great cartoonist. His paintings are full of humour, irony, tenderness, reflections and comments on everyday life. The ability to expose an idea through an image, be it a joke, a story or a reflection is an art that Rockwell dominated with mastery.

Rockwell is simply one of the Greatest Illustration Heroes of the Century!! Brilliant Work!!!

I had the good fortune to see some of Norman Rockwell's originals at a museum in San Diego Museum of Art in 2000… they were amazingly vibrant, colorful and tight as you'd expect. His talent for stylization, composition and storytelling within the frame are unmatched.

As an art student in Connecticut, I would drive up each year to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. The first museum was an old New England, white clapboard house on the main street in Stockbridge, small rooms on 2 floors, feeling like a favorite grandmother's house, but every wall filled with Rockwell originals. On one of those visits, one of the museum volunteers, a lovely white haired woman, showed us a around, pointing out the stories behind each painting. In a small room on the second floor hung the originals of WILLIE, the children's book. She told the story with bright eyes and soft words. I learned later as I left the museum that she was Molly herself, Rockwell's wife. An experience I'll never forget. Rockwell was a giant; seeing his originals oils with the juicy brush work and beautiful designs will convince anyone he was a true, honest and real Artist (capital A). Thanks again, Pete, for another great trip down memory lane.

Rockwell's coloring technique, composition skills and his ability to catch "the right moment" are just astounding. As I painter I really respect Rockwell. Absolutely my favorite illustrator.

Someone once asked me many years ago (I'm 69 years old) what my childhood was like, growing up on a dairy farm in the Midwest. I thought for a moment, and then replied, "I grew up in a Norman Rockwell painting." At the time, I thought that it was a clever answer, but have since come to realize that it was true in more ways than most people could understand. My childhood was idyllic, and I didn't even know it at the time. Rockwell's illustrations to me are a comforting return to a time we shall never see again.

I've been in awe of Rockwell's work for 50 years. There was nothing too challenging for him. Each of these painting started out as a full-scale, detailed graphite drawing. I've seen the drawing from the train station painting, and in the final version he changed the praying old woman's bag to have an even MORE intricate design. His sense of composition and storytelling is unparalleled. He elevated illustration to a high art form. Thanks so much for this.

Why is it that when an artist’s work is popular, there is always a faction that decides it can’t be good? They arrogantly believe that unless the artistic work is only appreciated by a select few, it can’t have TRUE artistic merit. Norman Rockwell’s warm and wonderful work will be remembered and enjoyed by generations yet unborn. Thanks for this excellent biographic overview.

Honestly, Norman Rockwell is so good I think many artists wish they could be like him, with his ability to generate anatomy, intriguing subject matter, vibrant yet unbrash painting. Imagine having his ability and using your own art style, surely you'll be happy!

The framing amd layout of some of his illustrations, specially for the magazine covers, are so delicious to the eyes. I never get tired of them.

Thank you Peter for covering Norman Rockwell. I personally can’t get enough of his incredible art work! Attention to detail, lighting, colour tone, subject! I love it! And I don’t care if I’m a sentimentalist, and it may show a world that never existed, but we need it, now more than ever.

Thank you Pete! Rockwell is an icon and yet many things in the video were new to me.

Would that I had the skill Mr. Rockwell had in his little finger! I grew up admiring his work. Thank you for sharing it with us, Mr. Beard!

Such an underrated artist! Nobody paints dogs like Rockwell! Excellent video!

Thank you. Every piece is like a short story or a play, a silent film in a still and with a sense of humour.

Amazing art. Thanks for the lovely presentation.

Благодарю. Это подлинный виртуоз. Соединение трезвого скрупулёзного внимания и магического оптимизма, филигранной композиции и очаровательных нюансов, театрализованного бурлеска и глубокой тёплой расположенности к людям. Блестящий уровень.

"...we are lucky enough to view..." Peter Beard's releases, listen to his pithy remarks and be soothed by his Brahms lullaby tonality voiced with perfect enunciation. We are your indebted fans and friendly well-wishers! thank you, good Squire!

One of my all time favorite illustrators. I was fortunate that my Grandmother subscribed to SEP so I was introduced to him early. I've always enjoyed the way he arranged and painted the tiniest of nuances to his characters to authentically show their emotions. Brilliant! I am stilled astounded by the sheer volume of work he put out and at an incredibly high level. Thanks for another great one Pete.

The sentimentality is undeniable, but so is the sheer quality of his painting and the strikingness of his compositions! Thank you.

Another great video, Pete. I'm old enough to remember when he was active! Thanks for bringing back a lot of memories...

Finally a video on the man himself Norman Rockwell, I don't know what to add besides congratulate you for making yet another informative video. Rockwell work is so ingrained in the public memory that for a short period of time in places like twitter his piece "Freedom of Speech" became a meme where people used it to share unpopular opinions. Truly one of the greatest.

Thank you Mr. Beard, I have always enjoyed your entertaining and informative videos and I was elated to see that you covered Mr. Rockwell, again thank you.

Excellent video. Rockwell made the iconic images that anyone can identify as the true Americana.

I fell in love the first time I saw his illustrations on the walls of a restaurant. It was love at first sight. Then I discovered his master, Leyendecker. Is hard to say who I love the most. Both are among the greatest artists of the 20th century.

Thanks so much Pete for this loving tribute! (Was always secretly waiting for this one to be produced but didn't feel I had the right to organise your schedule).

After your video on Maxfield Parrish, I didn't expect to be as awestruck at Norman Rockwell's prodigious output! He had the eye of a cartoonist but his caricatures were average human faces. His images had story and context that made them relatable. I'm starting to see Rockwell as one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century.

Thank you so much for taking the time to bring us such wonderfully produced videos. I have learned so much from your channel that gets passed on to others who love it too. Perfect voice! ❤

Great video, Pete. Norman Rockwell has always been a favorite of mine. I remember his Saturday Evening Post covers from my boyhood. We had the good fortune to visit the the Norman Rockwell Museum in Rutland, Vermont about 14 years ago. It was very enjoyable and informative. I read that it is now closed. His drawings reflect humor, goodness, and warmth which can be lacking in today's world. Thanks for sharing, Pete.

one of my all time favourites. thank you.

Thank you again Mr. Pete Beard for yet another fine episode. I think many of us assume we know a lot about these very famous figures but it usually turns out we really don't know much of anything. I think we end up formulating a personal relationship with them in our minds because we are surrounded by their work throughout our lives. I certainly learned a lot more about Norman Rockwell now. Thanks!

Norman Rockwell is a national, if not a world treasure. I grew up with his wonderful illustrations inspiring me to study commercial illustration and design. Thank you for this look at a phenomenal Illustrator.

Rosie the Riveter at Sistine - proper history of Art - respect, and many thanks for that gem Pete! He also didn't appear to care what Fine Artists and the critics thought, he didn't need to, he had far more talent than most of them put together!

This is the kind of video i really love. About "just" an illustrator. What a talented artist !! The quality of the drawings are insane.. This is too good ! Thank you again so much for this !

Good, underrated and brilliant artist. Big fan, thanks for this video ❤❤❤

As a ripple effect of Rockwell; I was taught the fine aspects of ‘illustrating’ on billboards by a man who studied from the work of Norman Rockwell. My friend’s name was Ray; and he was able to make a 14 foot tall painting on a billboard look like a photograph; I never achieved that level of precision myself, but Ray did amazing work; having studied Rockwell. This video is a real treat; thank you! BTW, Ray was old enough to be my dad; I wasn’t around until ‘67.

That was Wonderful! I knew a lot of Rockwell's paintings/images. This told me more of the man and what was behind him. Thank you again. for this and all the other views that you bring forward..

One of the greatest Visual Artists of the Twentieth Century. Thanks Pete! And Good On Ya for sorting out the copyright strike in a matter of under a few hours!

Almost an otherworldly talent. Just incredible. Lovely job Pete

I like Rockwell, not only for his technical accomplishment, but that each vignette tells a story. As always thanks for posting. P.S As an aside I think the West has declined since men stopped smoking pipes :-)

Wonderful stuff, I’ve loved his work for years. We just don’t see enough of it. Also like your series on illustrators very much

Nice! Rockwell rocks!

Rockwell is to illustrators as Pet Beard is to chroniclers of Illustration. Unequaled.

Thank You, Mr Beard, for yet another informative art video.

Many thanks Pete for the appreciation of Rockwell's work and introducing me to his autobiography which I really enjoyed.

One.) HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY! Two.) I always looked forward to the well thumbed Saturday Evening Post arriving after our mailman had read it! I loved the illustrations and the stories that the pictures told. Three.) At one time, I had that album! So very cool. And I bought it because of the cover. I wouldn't have discovered Al Cooper or Mike Bloomfield without it.

My favorite youtube series and channel. Thank you.

Luckily I was around to see some of his new work towards the end of his career. He was brilliant! A blend of sentiment and realistic physical depiction. Ignore the poses and the faces and just look at the way he depicts clothes on the human frame or even draped across a chair and you realize you are viewing genius. Thanks so much. Pete!

Pete, thank you very much. You story telling is brilliant as always.

Each of those are works of art in their own right. The attention to detail is astonishing considering they're supposed to be throw away pictures for magazines. Love his work.

Rockwell Illustrations and America! Great coverage! Tnx!

Bravo. This is one of the best summaries of a -remixer America’s illustrators. It is a meaningful compilation, straightforward and well assessed covering a enormous body of work. As a painter, I appreciate the tone and clarity of an unapologetic presentation of someone who represents the idea of illustration without pretense. It is enough. Well done

Excellent video about an excellent artist ... thank you for posting it.

These videos are always superb and this one is yet another example. As for Rockwell, his work has rightly been loved by people for precisely the reason he was criticised by some in the art community, their positivity. I have always loved them and enjoy them to this day. Thanks for this salute to a great figure in American popular culture.

Fantastic tribute as usual, always accompained by great commentary. Thanks, Pete! Cheers from Brazil!

Oh i’m so happy you did this. He’s weirdly both over- and under- rated, i think probably because of how pop media production works in the US. I like comparing/contrasting him to Warhol.

One of my favorite artists.

Another truly wonderful video, Mr Beard. Thank you. I find it enviable how you skip between countries and continents. I am a steadfast devotee of English illustration to English books. I find it hard crossing over the sea although I do own work by European and US artists including one by one of the few artists that Norman Rockwell personally tutored.

A great artist brilliant thanks for the video

Pete Beard, you are a legend! Thanks for making these exceptionally interesting videos about so many amazing artists!

And yet your help is very much appreciated. Great vid.

Excellent video. Thanks for making it. Good music choice too. Edit: I'm now subscribed! Can't believe the amount of videos you've made about midcentury art. Looking forward to pouring thru your catalogue.

thank you dear author for such interesting channel and your clear pronunciation - as for non English speaker its a pearl in the ocean

He was such an accomplished artist/ illustrator..his compositions were so varied in the ideas he expressed

Best channel anywhere! Bravo!

One of the greatest artist/illustrators.

A fellow artist told me of being in a museum in Boston several decades ago. He was in a room with several Rembrandts. Like all Artists, he was wondering if his own work would ever sell for millions of dollars or wind up in a museum. He looked around and saw Norman Rockwell who, he assumed, was studying the Rembrandts and having the same thoughts. Best wishes from Vermont 🍁

Norman has been a big inspiration for my artwork lately same with john falter or leyendecker, the quailty of their backgrounds to realistic yet simplistic shape break downs of anatomy and humans is easy to follow, and the painting style is just mesmerizing, thank you norman for being mentors for young artists everywhere :] Side story: its also helping me and my grandmother who is 98 bond over something we share in common which is the love for saturday evening post, 💕

When I was just a young sprat, the town barbershop had a series of Rockwell prints up on the wall, including the one a 8:30. I think that started my love of his illustrations. Somehow, I managed to go this far without realizing he'd illustrated an edition of Tom Sawyer. I'll have to hunt down a copy, even if only a reprint. I've got a spot on my bookshelf that'd be just perfect for it.

For a while I've somewhat lazily considered Norman Rockwell a purveyor of a cheesy type of Americana. But with the coming of age I now see him as an important American storyteller, something a country needs to remind itself of the things it stands for. In WW2 for a weary GI in the Pacific to see a SEP cover of some kids swinging on a tyre suspended over a waterhole, or a shopkeeper looking perplexed as old lady tries to decide which type of boiled sweets to buy for her grandchild, must have been a tremendous morale booster. It's a kind of good-hearted propaganda, the type a government can never do because it requires an artist with a vision of something he dearly believes in to execute in a way that doesn't seem fake or heavy-handed. It's Rockwell's vision of what made America worth fighting for. And I think that has a resonance with people these days, when that vision of America seems to be blurred, and deeply contentious. Beyond all that, Rockwell was an absolute master of his craft. His compositions, colour sense and technical skill were of an unassailable level in a time when the US was producing a stream of brilliant illustrators. Thanks for the video. Some of the pix were new to me, but they all reminded me that Norman Rockwell was a great man and a great artist.

Thanks Pete, again, well told and presented. I still remember the excitement of my first encounter with Rockwell - though I love his earlier, less photographic-looking work best, (such as the Yankee Doodle Dandy mural).

Really sweet. And yes, well deserved (and not a single lewd female sex object in the bunch tho he easily could've!). I always enjoy these 'singles' that are more comprehensive, along with all the 'albums' you put together. Thanks again, as always!

His picture of the young soldier coming home will always be one of my favorites.

I love your work, Pete Beard. Love it!

Fantastic video, as always.

I noticed that many artists I like, call themselves 'craftsmen'. Norman Rockwell, M.C. Escher, Anton Pieck.

Thank you!💙🙏🏽

Needs no help from you. And yet this is still probably the best introduction on RU-vid.

very interesting take. some of his works were quiet amazing. I liked the soldier sitting behind the machine gun.

Love anything to do with Rockwell. Another great video Pete!

As soon as I seen the thumbnail I rushed to watch it. I seen illustrators make photographic quality art but it's missing something, a rare quality that every so slightly skewed realism to give it emotion in every stoke. That is Norman Rockwell to me.

In 1990 I was looking to commission a painting, and was lucky enough to be introduced to a young 2nd year student at Glasgow School of Art by the name of Jenny Saville. She painted me a striking portrait of her classmate Diane which I sold at Sotheby's in London 16 years later. In my initial talk with her, she asked me if I wanted any particular style and I said Norman Rockwell. She hadn't heard of him and I don't know for sure if she checked him out, but I think she did!

Another great video!

Vey mixed feelings about this clearly talented person. My favorite of all his work is the little black girl and the US Marshals. I admire him for calling himself an illustrator. I wish I liked his work more. I just miss the quality that NC Wyeth has. The take off of Michelangelo is a superb bit of info and says a lot of good things about Rockwell’s skill and sense of humor.

A wonderful artist. I have always loved his work.

He was, HE CERTAINLY WAS, an artist.

wonderful video!

Excellent, thank you.

Rock On/ a very loved early young springboard artist that never lost our favor in American Life .

Tnx for the great video and story :)

Normal Rockwell truly was an American treasure

I love him, he rises above petty critisism.

One of your best!

I read a rather tragic anecdote about his very last years. of him going to paint in his studio (I believe it was in a converted barn), and laying out his paints and a canvas and just sitting there. It was said that he had dementia and was unable to focus enough to work. Did you run across such info, Pete? Well, sir, now that you've covered Rockwell, perhaps you will finally move up to Jack Kirby!

I have a signed copy of road block. A friend of the family was a neighbour. As a graphic designer i have always loved his work.

He's my favourite artist. None of the artists since Caravaggio had the drawing skills of this man, and certainly the emotional response his work produces is a locater and indicator of the integrity and character of the viewer - to the pure his work is beautiful and ingenious, to the corrupt it's sentimental and trite.

Uno de mis ilustradores preferido, muchas gracias por este video

Ohe cover Rockwell did for the Post in the 1950's (I think ) created a bit of a fuss. Rockwell painted an old New England fisherman carrying a wooden crate with open slats, with a topless Mermaid coyly smiling inside the crate.The slates and one of her arms were posed just enough to give the Mermaid some modesty. I think most people wouldn't blink and eye if they saw it today, but not back then!