Fun for the Whole Family!
The educational road trip leading up to a spectacular vista is not always appreciated by those for whom all that effort was expended. Artist Richard Sargent was also a father and the complex and often hilarious child-parent dynamic was a regular theme.
Beached
Retirees in the 1930s may not have known how to dress down for the shore, but they seem to be enjoying the sand just as much as their modern-day equivalents do.
Dedicated vacationers march to the water first thing in the morning, forming an impromptu parade.
Baggage
Universal Truth No. 1: After a week at the beach, you will accumulate at least twice the baggage that you arrived with.
Universal Truth No. 2: Vacations are short and much anticipated, which doesn’t leave time for unpacking — at least not in Dad’s view.
Disappointment
When your job is to help others achieve their dreams as is the case for this travel agent, sometimes you need a quiet moment to dream one up for yourself.
You can’t plan the weather for that dream vacation, but this family is determined to get in as much outdoor time as humanly possible.
Back Again
When you go away for what looks to be about three weeks — judging from the number of newspapers on the lawn, strewn about the front entry by some lout of a paperboy — there’s a lot of cleanup to be done. The weight of this realization is quite evident in the droop of Father’s shoulders.
There may be no place like home, but after a long trip, Rockwell’s family requires rest.
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Comments
Norman Rockwell did so much to preserve AMERICA in pictures. Love it all!
Substitute iPads and iPhones for the books and papers and nothing has changed.
The top one — Lookout Point — that was my family for sure. We did this to my poor dad — read books when we were supposed to be fulfilling his long-stated dream of taking his family to experience the Grand Canyon in all its splendor. Little does Dad realize that his efforts were all worth the while in the end. All of us love and cherish these places, now, deeply. Thank you, Dad. And thank you, all the Dads.
Always a great fan of Rockwell. These photos bring back fond memories of days gone by. Are prints available?
Great covers. Vacations are fun, but a lot of work too.