Night Raid by Dick Sargent, November 6, 1954
© 1954 SEPS. All Rights Reserved.

Dieting Through the Years

Unlike Jackie Gleason, the poor guy on Dick Sargent’s 1954 cover didn’t even make it to the second day of his diet. While his son chows down on a hearty stack of pancakes, Mr. Portleigh (as Post editors dubbed him) sticks to juice and coffee. His buddy at lunch is not helping either, scarfing down spaghetti while Mr. P declines a pat of butter from the waitress. The Mrs. is trying to help by serving an apple for dessert that evening (don’t you love the enthusiasm on her husband’s face?) while Junior, unsympathetic as ever, enjoys a thick slab of cake. By the light of the crescent moon, however, Mr. Portleigh makes a night raid on the fridge. At least he tried. Sort of.

View the Gallery

Artists

America’s Artist

Norman Rockwell didn’t create his celebrated images using only brush and paint. They often took shape first as scenes that Rockwell literally acted out. Showing their appreciation for his storytelling talents, film directors George Lucas and Steven Spielberg share their private Rockwell collections with the Smithsonian for the upcoming exhibit Telling Stories.