Norman Rockwell
Norman Rockwell Framed Lithograph Willie takes a step - 1971.
1971

Name: Norman Rockwell Framed Lithograph Willie takes a step - 1971.
Brand: Norman Rockwell
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Artist: Norman Rockwell Title: Willie Takes a Step Year: 1971 Dimensions: 18 x 24 Inches. Framed Approx.: 24 x 30 Inches. Edition: 69/200 Medium: Lithograph Condition: Excellent Signature Details: Hand-signed and numbered by the artist. "Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed." - Norman Rockwell - Born in New York City in 1894, Norman Rockwell always wanted to be an artist. At the age of fourteen, Rockwell enrolled in art classes at the New York School of Art (formerly the Chase School of Art). In 1910, at the age of 16, he left high school to study art at the National Academy of Design. He soon transferred to the Art Students League, where he studied with Thomas Fogarty and George Bridgman. Fogarty’s instruction in illustration prepared Rockwell for his first commercial commissions. From Bridgman, Rockwell learned the technical skills on which he relied throughout his long career. Rockwell found success early. He painted his first commission of four Christmas cards before his sixteenth birthday. While still in his teens, he was hired as art director of Boys’ Life, the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America, and began a successful freelance career illustrating a variety of young people’s publications. At age 21, Rockwell’s family moved to New Rochelle, New York, a community whose residents included such famous illustrators as J.C. and Frank Leyendecker and Howard Chandler Christy. There, Rockwell set up a studio with the cartoonist Clyde Forsythe and produced work for such magazines as Life, Literary Digest and Country Gentleman. In 1916, the 22-year-old Rockwell painted his first cover for The Saturday Evening Post, the magazine considered by Rockwell to be the “greatest show window in America.” Over the next 47 years, another 321 Rockwell covers would appear on the cover of the Post. Also in 1916, Rockwell married Irene O’Connor; they divorced in 1930. The 1930s and 1940s are generally considered to be the most fruitful decades of Rockwell’s career. In 1930, he married Mary Barstow, a schoolteacher, and the couple had three sons  Jarvis, Thomas and Peter. The family moved to Arlington, Vermont, in 1939, and Rockwell’s work began, more consistently, to reflect small town American life. In 1943, inspired by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s address to Congress, Rockwell painted the Four Freedoms paintings. They were reproduced in four consecutive issues of The Saturday Evening Post with essays by contemporary writers. Rockwell’s interpretations of Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom From Want and Freedom From Fear proved to be enormously popular. The works toured the United States in an exhibition that was jointly sponsored by the Post and the U.S. Treasury Department and, through the sale of war bonds, raised more than $130 million for the war effort. Although the Four Freedoms series was a great success, 1943 also brought Rockwell an enormous loss. A fire destroyed his Arlington studio as well as numerous paintings and his collection of historical costumes and props. In 1953, the Rockwell family moved from Arlington, Vermont, to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Six years later, Mary Barstow Rockwell died unexpectedly. In collaboration with his son Thomas, Rockwell published his autobiography, My Adventures as an Illustrator, in 1960. The Saturday Evening Post carried excerpts from the best-selling book in eight consecutive issues with Rockwell’s Triple Self-Portrait on the cover of the first issue. In 1961, Rockwell married Molly Punderson, a retired teacher. Two years later, he ended his 47-year association with The Saturday Evening Post and began to work for Look magazine. During his ten-year association with Look, Rockwell painted pictures illustrating some of his deepest concerns and interests including civil rights, America’s war on poverty and the exploration of space. In 1973, Rockwell established a trust to preserve his artistic legacy by placing his works in the custodianship of the Old Corner House Stockbridge Historical Society, later to become the Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge. The trust now forms the core of the museum’s permanent collections. In 1976, in failing health, Rockwell became concerned about the future of his studio. He arranged to have his studio and its contents added to the trust. In 1977, Rockwell received the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for his “vivid and affectionate portraits of our country.” He died peacefully at his home in Stockbridge on November 8, 1978, at the age of 84.

Creator:

Norman Rockwell (1894 - 1978, American)

Creation Year:

1971

Dimensions:

Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)

Medium:

Lithograph

Movement & Style:

Contemporary

Period:

1970-1979

Framing:

Framing Options Available

Condition:

Gallery Location:

Pembroke Pines, FL

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU2382214132922

Shop All Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell is among the most revered painters of the 20th century. His figurative and portrait paintings reflect an innocent and idyllic America described by the artist as "life as I would like it to be." For nearly 50 years, he illustrated the covers of The Saturday Evening Post in a rich and emotive style that gave distinctive personalities to his imagined characters. In total, Norman Rockwell created more than 4,000 works of art over the course of his life.

Rockwell was born in 1894 in New York City. His artistic aspirations took shape early on, and when he was 14 years old, he took classes at the New York School of the Art, which is now the Parsons School of Design. Later, he attended the Art Students League of New York, where he studied under influential painters Thomas Fogarty and George Bridgman. While still a teen, Rockwell became art director of the Boy Scouts of America publication Boys' Life.

At 21, Rockwell moved to New Rochelle, New York, and opened a studio with fellow illustrator Victor Clyde Forsythe. He created illustrations for magazines like Literary Digest and Life before his first cover for The Saturday Evening Post was published when he was 22. In 1939, after moving to Arlington, Vermont, Rockwell pivoted to making the nostalgic paintings of small-town and iconic America for which he is best known — scenes of Christmas dinner, children playing in the street and national treasures like Ruby Bridges and Rosie the Riveter.

In 1943, a speech previously given by President Franklin Roosevelt inspired Rockwell to create his most famous series, “The Four Freedoms,” which was exhibited all over the United States. The series included four pieces entitled Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear.

Rockwell moved with his family to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in 1953, where he spent the rest of his life. My Adventures as an Illustrator — the autobiography Rockwell wrote with the help of his son, Thomas — was published in 1960. In 1963, Rockwell ceased working with The Saturday Evening Post and started drawing illustrations for Look magazine.

The world’s largest collection of original Rockwell art can be found at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge. The artist was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977, and he passed away peacefully in his home the following year.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of original Norman Rockwell paintings, prints, drawings and other works.