As Rockwell himself said, “I love to tell stories in pictures. For me, the story is the first thing and the last thing.” The works of one of America’s most esteemed artists, Norman Rockwell (1894 – 1978), will be displayed at the Tampa Museum of Art on March 7 through May 31 in the exhibition “American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell.”

Rockwell excelled at his craft, illustrating 323 cover page photos over the course of 47 years for The Saturday Evening Post, and later illustrating for Look magazine, while continuing to contribute illustrations for Boys’ Life, a Boy Scout publication, throughout his life. His legacy remains in his ability to depict a picturesque view of society while also maintaining its truth throughout the ages.

The exhibition includes examples of his work from the 1910s to the 1960s, featuring 323 Post covers (tear sheets), as well as numerous Post covers and original oil paintings the prolific artist created during his long career with the magazine. The exhibition will allow visitors a visual walk through much of 20th-century American history.

“Those who lived through some of the events depicted will enjoy reliving them, while those too young to remember them will be treated

to a tour de force of visual storytelling,” Seth Pevnick said. Pevnick is the executive director of the Tampa Museum of Art.

The exhibition will also give visitors a good sense of how Rockwell worked. Alongside his finished paintings and published posters and magazine covers, they will also display examples of his own notes, letters, and reference photographs, as well as photographs of Rockwell at work in his studio.

“People are often astonished by the scale and painterly beauty of Norman Rockwell’s art,” said Laurie Norton Moffatt, director/CEO of the Norman Rockwell Museum. “There is nothing like seeing a Norman Rockwell image in its original form. He was a master storyteller and kept his finger on the pulse of American culture for much of the 20th century.” Rockwell’s passion for illustration began at a young age when he started taking classes at The New School of Art in New York City at the age of 14. Rockwell then dropped out of high school and enrolled in Art Students League of New York where he was taught by exceptional artists like Thomas Fogarty and Frank Vincent DuMond. After graduating, he quickly did works for various publications until 1916 when he began illustrating for the Post, for which he would

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illustrate some 323 originals, many of which are featured in the exhibit.

Rockwell entertained the country with heartwarming, candid images of society, like “After Prom Night,” and “Santa Claus” which illustrates Old Saint Nick with a Coca Cola in hand.

In the last 10 years of his career, Rockwell illustrated for Look magazine, where he created works that displayed poverty, space exploration and civil rights activities, as depicted in “The Problem we All Live With,” where a young, African-American girl walks to school accompanied by police officers for protection. Such works are representations of history, and preserve the country’s ever evolving culture.

In 1973, Rockwell created a trust that ensured the preservation of his works, which was then acquired by the Norman Rockwell Museum to allow his art to be exhibited and used for the “advancement of

art appreciation and art education.” A year before his death in 1978, Rockwell received the United State’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter.

“The museum is thrilled to showcase exhibitions that continue our mission to tell the story of modern art,” Todd D. Smith said, the executive director of the Tampa Museum of Art.

The Tampa Museum of Art opened its award-winning home in 2010 with a commitment to providing innovative public programs with a strong focus on classical, modern, and contemporary art. The Museum balances a growing collection, including one of the largest Greek and Roman antiquities acquisitions in the southeast, with a dynamic annual schedule of special exhibitions. It is the region’s largest museum devoted to art of our time and has built a reputation for embracing contemporary photography and new media.

For more information on the exhibit, for the museum’s hours of operation or to purchase tickets, visit TampaMuseum.org.

By Alexis Minieri

“I will never have enough time to paint all the pictures I want to.” - Norman Rockwell

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