Rosey Grier’s Needlepoint

This cover was designed by a needlepoint expert—Rosey (Roosevelt) Grier, a former pro for the L.A. Rams and the New York Giants.

According to this issue, Grier appeared on a talk show in the 1970s and “one of the guests brought her work and Rosey was so taken he spent—after she taught him—the entire program pulling yarn through canvas. Later, Rosey would haul his sewing to card games. If he had a good hand, out would come the needlework from under the table, an unusual alternative to the poker face.”

Johnny Unitas by Leifer Neil

Widely considered one of the NFL all time greats, Johnny Unitas of the Baltimore Colts appeared on the cover in December 1964. By this time, photographs had replaced work by artists that the Saturday Evening Post was so known for. Not that photographers aren’t artists, as this great shot by Leifer Neil shows.

The article in this issue was ironically called, “The Runaway Colts.” This referred to an outstanding season in 1964, one of Unitas’ (and the Colts’) best. The title has no bearing on “Bob Irsay’s Midnight Ride,” abandoning Baltimore for Indianapolis, which didn’t occur until 1984. Although he had been retired for a decade by then, Unitas and fellow players were outraged by the move. Unitas passed away in 2002.

“Quarterback Pass” by Maurice Bower

Artist Maurice Bower was brilliant at capturing moments of high-energy action, as this 1935 cover will attest to. Other great examples of this were Bower’s many covers of another kind of athlete: horses. Galloping, muscles straining, nostrils flaring and manes flying—see “Maurice Bower’s Horse Power” from 2009.

“Inflating Football” by Harrison McCreary

Equipment sure has changed since the Roaring Twenties. For one thing, you needed a good set of lungs just to keep the ball inflated. Secondly, it is hard to imagine the helmet provided much protection. A really cute touch to this illustration by artist Harrison McCreary is the 4-leafed-clover pinned to the boy’s sweater for luck. Apparently, the need for a good set of lungs continued into the 1940s—see below.

“Grandma and Football” by Russell Sambrook

In this 1940 cover, the helmet looks a bit more sophisticated, but that ball still needs to be inflated the hard way. If I were this young man, I would do it myself and let grandma get on with her apple peeling. I don’t know how the game will turn out, but something tells me a rockin’ apple pie is in his future.

“College Man’s Number” by George Gibbs

The Saturday Evening Post started out as a newspaper. It didn’t sport a cover and start looking like a magazine until 1899. So, with a virtually new format, artist George Gibbs paints a football cover. Gibbs did several early Post covers as well as inside illustrations and covers for other prominent magazines of the time such as The Ladies Home Journal and Redbook.

“Rockwell Models”

One advantage of living near Rockwell in the 1950s is that you had a good chance of being forever remembered in a Saturday Evening Post cover.

“Progress?” – August 21, 1954

This is progress? The construction crew is meant to build a cellar, but along come the local would-be All Stars pleading, “Gee, mister, this is our baseball lot!”

Rockwell gathered up models for this scene in midwinter by knocking on doors (in Stockbridge, Mass.) and rousting up members of the Little League team. My favorite touch is tiny Scott Ingram sucking his fingers as the negotiations proceed. The boy in the baseball suit is big brother, Kenneth Ingram. We’ll see Scott again.

The workers appear sympathetic, but we suspect things do not bode well for the great American pastime.

According to Kenneth, Scott’s best buddy was Eddie Locke (below).

“Before the Shot”– March 15, 1958

We recently showed you Eddie Locke as “The Runaway” (see: ROCKWELL: BEHIND THE CANVAS). The young man shows up on yet another classic Rockwell cover: as the boy checking out the doctor’s credentials before getting a shot.

The physician preparing the shot was Donald Campbell, a real local doctor. “Norman lived across the street from me for a number of years, said Dr. Campbell in a 1976 issue of the Post. “It was a familiar sight to see his long legs carrying him down to the studio regularly before eight a.m. “

Dr. Campbell continued, “Norman couldn’t help being nice to people, especially children. When my five-year-old Betsy fell from her bike because a little dog followed her, barking, Norman gathered her up, stopped her tears and took her home with him. With Betsy on his knee, he drew a series of pictures as in a cartoon, showing a little dog chasing a little child on a bike. The picture showed the little girl’s face with the caption, ‘See. The nice little dog only wanted to play.’”

“Girl at the Mirror” – March 6, 1954

Rockwell once called Mary Whalen his favorite model, even if the young girl on the cover didn’t think she measured up to Jane Russell (who did?). The artist captures the “in-between” age well between the cast away doll and the closer “necessities” of lipstick and hairbrush.

Mary’s first memory of the artist “was at a high school basketball game in Arlington, Vermont, about 1950. His son Tommy was on the local team, so along with nearly everybody else in town, Norman was there to cheer them on. When I harassed my Dad for a Coke, a friendly man sitting behind us gallantly reached over my shoulder and invited me to drink some of his Coke. That was the beginning of my admiration for Norman Rockwell.”

How did Rockwell get the facial expressions he wanted from the kids? “He would laugh and shout, pound the floor, or jump up and down,” Mary recalled. “He did the acting while I reacted. What a wonderful moment of joy when Norman drew forth from me the expressions he wanted. He would burst out laughing, with happy shouts. It is the memory of those triumphant, creative moments which I treasure most,” she recalled, more than twenty years later. “I can still hear deep within me his laugh of celebration.”

“A Day in the Life of a Girl” – August 30, 1952

Earlier in 1952, Rockwell did a cover called “A Day in the Life of a Boy,” which follows a boy getting up and ready for school, playing baseball, getting distracted by a pretty girl, and so on. A few months later, the summer version, “A Day in the life of a Girl” appeared. Both covers featured Charles Marsh, Jr. and Mary Whalen. Mary awakens, then it’s off to go swimming, where a young man promptly tries to drown her. The spirited lass returns the gesture, and it was love at first fight.

The last row shows a chaste kiss, which Marsh just couldn’t pull off. “I considered her my girlfriend then,” he said later, but I had never built up enough courage to kiss her. Mr. Rockwell finally gave up on trying to get me to kiss her and posed us puckering separately.” The ordeals of being a model!

“The Missing Tooth”- September 7, 1957

When Rockwell needed a child for a Crest ad (“Look, Ma! No Cavities!”), he asked his friends, the Morgans, if he could borrow their daughter. When cute little Ann Morgan showed up at the studio, she was missing two front teeth. Oops. “Mr. Rockwell went ahead and painted my front teeth in for the ad,” said grown-up Ann Morgan Baker in 1976, “but my missing teeth may have given him the idea for a Post cover.”

Living near a famous artist had its perks: “Being on the cover changed my life,” Ann said, “People were always saying, ‘I saw you in Chicago,’ or ‘I saw you in a drugstore window in New York.’ I thought of myself as a tiny little international star.” And the modeling fee? “$25 when you’re six is a lot of money.” Famous AND rich—what more could you ask for?

Having Rockwell as a family friend has its odd moments, too. The artist would call Ann’s mother “at 7 a.m. and say, ‘Don’t make the beds. I want to come and look at some messy rooms.’ Then he would come and wander through our morning rubble.”

Ann’s first love? Neighbor and fellow Rockwell model, Scott Ingram (above as the littlest ball player and below).

“The Discovery” – December 29, 1956

Poor little Scott Ingram—this unexpected discovery is suddenly answering a lot of questions. The good news is that this 1956 cover also made him a celebrity of sorts. He actually got fan mail and even made a television appearance with the famous artist. He enjoyed working with Rockwell, and looked forward to the end of each session, when he would be treated to a milkshake.

The painting is more multi-faceted than the first glance would indicate. The way Rockwell captured the burling of the wood of the dresser is one such detail. And life for the artist would have been easier had he just closed the door. Instead, he replicated the patterned wallpaper outside the room, illuminated by the light of a window we have the barest glimpse of.

This photo appeared in a 1911 booklet the Post did for newsboys.

The Our Teams magazine, as it was called, contained selling tips and success stories to inspire the boys to sell enough issues to win prizes, like those below:

“Say, do you want one of those $1.25 Official, American League, Cork-Center Baseballs?” asks the May 1911 issue of Our Teams.

“And say, do you want one of those Regulation Finger-Gloves?” Just “make an average increase of thirty copies in your Saturday Eventing Post sales…” Incentives like these encouraged news boys to become top salesmen.

By the 1920s, The Saturday Evening Post was America’s top magazine, with a circulation in the millions. How did it get that way? In the days long before television, let alone the internet, reading was a popular pastime. With the most popular authors of the day, and the finest illustrators, it wasn’t unusual for an issue to run to 150 pages or more. That was a lot of bang for the buck. Or, the nickel, actually—the magazine was five cents. The January 9, 1926 issue (left) boasted fiction by such writers as F. Scott Fitzgerald and a Norman Rockwell cover and … 256 pages!

There was another reason for the success of America’s favorite magazine: a marketing strategy that recruited boys (and girls) to sell the Post one issue and one nickel at a time.

In 1971, Michigan attorney David G. Heilbrun sent a letter to the Post with a picture of himself as a Post News Boy. The cover of the issue young David is holding shows a soldier greeting his sweetheart and is from May 30, 1942.

“For about 2 years, aged 10-12,” David wrote, “I was fortunate to establish a route of about 25 regular customers.” Experience as a Post carrier was said to instill a work ethic and business experience. It must have worked: “I’ve sometimes wondered if this was such a good idea since I’ve felt invigorating being overworked ever since,” Heilbrun noted.

Former Post Boys include TV personalities Hugh Downs and Charles Osgood, department store founder Stanley Marcus, and oilman J. Paul Getty.

If you were a Post News Boy (or Girl), or one of your parents or a grandparent was, send Diana an e-mailwith their story. A photo of them at the time and/or a recent photo would be appreciated. Maybe we’ll feature you on our website!

Meet some former news boys and girls: Remember Post News Boys and Girls and Post Boys and Girls-74 years later

“Women, Auto & Mechanic” by Karl Anderson

These well-dressed ladies from a 1904 cover seem to be in need of a mechanic. Love those tires!

“The Fur Coat” by John Sheridan

This beautiful cover from 1918 was by artist John Sheridan. Magazine covers such as this one gave a glance into a lifestyle most Americans could not otherwise imagine. This issue was full of the ongoing dreadful news of WWI. It also contained a great deal of fiction and a surprising number of car ads, including the ad below for the “Rex” automobile.

“REX Automobile Ad” from January 5,1918

If you love old car ads, see “Have You Heard of These Classic Cars?”

“Caught in the Rain” by Albert W. Hampson

“4 Wheels—No Brakes” is written on top of this jalopy from 1936. Apparently, there is no top, either. Love the facial expressions—clearly the young lady has had better dates.

“Ford V-8 Ad from 1936″

Much nicer than the brakeless heap with no top was the Ford V-8, as shown in this beautiful ad from August 1936.

“Parallel Parking” by Thornton Utz

Post editors asked artist Thornton Utz if the lady behind the wheel on this 1950 cover might be his wife. He recoiled in horror: “Oh no! Don’t say that!” The editors, who loved to tease cover artists, countered with something about women drivers in general. The artist begged that they not say that, either. Whoever the anonymous lady was, she was clearly determined to nab that last parking spot in front of the market.

“Packard Automobile Ad” from April 1, 1950

Among the car ads in that issue was this one for a 1950 Packard Eight Deluxe 135-HP Touring Sedan:

If you want to see some beautiful old Packard ads, see our piece on “Classic Car Ads: The Packard”

“Backup Collision” by Stevan Dohanos

It’s easy enough to see how this could happen. Love the depiction of 1956 suburbia, including the man with the push mower. He seems to be wisely staying out of it. Unless one of the drivers is his wife and he is simply in shock.

“Speeder on the Median” by Richard Sargent

It wouldn’t be so bad if the guy on the mower wasn’t so smug-looking. Oh, who are we kidding? Even without the “Excuse My Dust” smirk on the mower’s face, it is still discouraging to have your zippy roadster—shall we say—“outclipped” by a lawnmower.

“In Fellowship Lies Friendship”– August 27, 1960

This rather daunting edifice is the University Club of New York. The club’s motto was “In Fellowship Lies Friendship,” and the fellows inside seem to be interested in the “friendship” developing outside.

Also interested in the tall sailor chatting up the shapely blonde are a few bystanders. Two of those rather non-pedestrian pedestrians are in the lower left corner—Mr. Rockwell, we presume, walking alongside his daughter-in-law, Gail.

What appears to be a simple scene is actually quite detailed. I for one am amazed at the “texture” in the stone. The birds flying by are easy to miss, and leave it to Rockwell to be faithful to the Italian Renaissance details, including the unusual keystones above the windows. The building is still an architectural landmark today.

“Well!” (Jack Benny) –March 2, 1963

Well! What else can one say about Jack Benny? Okay, for you younger readers, the delightful Jack Benny had a way of saying, “Well!” that…well, you just had to be there. This painting could also be called, “I’m thinking, I’m thinking!” as in his standard response to the line “Your money or your life!” Really, this stuff wasn’t that corny at the time…

As we saw in the previous feature, Rockwell painted world figures in far-flung places, but, interestingly, he was nervous about meeting the beloved comedian. He called Bill Davidson of the Post and told him, “I’m really nervous about meeting this Benny fellow. Would you be good enough to help me over the hurdle?” Ironically, about a half an hour earlier, Benny, who was beloved by millions and the friend of presidents and kings, called Davidson with the same request. He was nervous about meeting the great Norman Rockwell. So Davidson was there for the meeting. Hey, world leaders come and go. Benny and Rockwell were classics!

“The Golden Rule”– April 1, 1961

Norman Rockwell, whose first Saturday Evening Post cover appeared in 1916, was still painting classics 45 years later in 1961. Taking a serious turn, he created “The Golden Rule,” which is, of course, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Oddly enough, the models who depicted the humanity of many nations, all came from the general area of Rockwell’s studio. Rockwell had a passion for costumes and had collected many from his travels abroad. Of the rabbi, the artist chuckled, “he’s Mr. Lawless, our retired postmaster. I put whiskers on him, and I think he fits the part quite well, even if he is a Catholic.” Barely visible in the upper right corner is a face painted by memory: Rockwell’s late wife, holding their first grandson, a child she hadn’t lived to know.

Rockwell received the Interfaith Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews for this cover.

“Stained Glass Artistry”– April 16, 1960

Among our Rockwells that don’t look like Rockwells, we have this Easter 1960 cover. The idea came from a trip Norman took to Westminster Abbey in London, where a craftsman was high on a scaffold repairing a stained glass window.

Oh how the artist toiled to capture that luminosity of the backlit stained glass. He just couldn’t do it. Finally, he found stained glass designers Rowan and Irene LeCompet of New York and they traveled to Rockwell’s studio bearing detailed plans of a window they had designed for a Washington church. That’s Rowan LeCompet up on the scaffold repairing a break. Rockwell studied church window after church window, inside and out, before he finally captured that radiant quality.

“Midnight Snack”– November 3, 1962

This cover is another example of Rockwell’s attention to minute detail, and an example of his wild sense of humor. The scene takes place at the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts, which must be a fascinating place to visit. The knight in shining armor atop the horse was a display that caught Rockwell’s fancy. The detail in the tapestry is wonderful. Not part of the collection, but a figment of Norman’s imagination, is the guard having a midnight snack. And we really, really hope the disapproving glare of the horse was part of Norman’s fancy, too!

“Rockwell Paints Nehru”– Feb 13, 1960

Forget freckle-faced boys, scruffy dogs and swimming holes. Rockwell was a seasoned traveler in the 1960s, often painting world leaders along the way.

“The Connoisseur”– January 13, 1962

You can stare at the man staring at the Jackson Pollock-like picture all day and still not decide if he is thinking of whipping out his checkbook to buy it, or wondering, “What in blue blazes is going on here?”

Rockwell himself attended some classes “in modern art techniques. I learned a lot and loved it.” He had fun with this one. He put the canvas on the floor, dipping into paints and splashing them far and wide. It happened that a worker was washing the windows of his studio, so the artist invited him to help. The man climbed to the top of a ladder and obligingly dumped a can of white paint on the canvas below. One can’t help but wonder whatever happened to the laborer who actually helped Norman Rockwell paint a Post cover!

“Gamal Abdel Nasser”– May 15, 1963

Not what you think of as a “Rockwell,” is it? But Norman Rockwell was a great portrait painter (see the paintings he did of candidates Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy in “Presidential Post Covers” from February 19, 2011). Nasser of Egypt was a pivotal figure in world politics since becoming president in 1954.

Nasser knew he was a handsome man and insisted on a frontal view with a toothpaste smile. Rockwell was just as insistent on a profile portrait. The artist would pose him the way he wished and begin sketching and Nasser would turn around and flash that big smile again. Now, clearly Norman was dealing with a powerful world figure, and not one to trifle with. This was a man who had helped organize the overthrow of the Egyptian royal family—a man with many guards around. Big guards. But Rockwell persisted in posing the President as he wanted, and, uncharacteristically, Nasser finally gave in.

“Nehru”– January 19, 1963

Another day, another hot spot in the world. Rockwell accompanied Post Editor Robert Sherrod to India to report on “the epical struggle between China and India, which engages a third of mankind.” The article included photos of India of the early sixties, including one of college girls getting “emergency rifle training” from an army instructor.

Rockwell and his wife Molly enjoyed India and were invited to Nehru’s home. There they met Nehru’s daughter, Indira Ghandi, a future Prime Minister. The Rockwells were flattered and more than a little startled to find that Madame Gandhi had a room lined with Rockwell prints for her children.

“The Window Washer”– September 17, 1960

“Sakes alive! What ever has come over Norman Rockwell?” mused Post editors. “Does he hold with this sort of behavior?” Actually, Rockwell initially envisioned a different type of woman. He had in mind “a very prim girl, looking shocked,” he told us. “But the idea of youth calling to youth worked out more effectively. The girl isn’t going to date the fellow, however. You may assure the public of that.” Aw, Norman, that would have made a nice ending!

“Modernizing the Post”– September 16, 1961

The Pennsylvania Gazette was started in 1729 by an innovative young man named Benjamin Franklin. The Gazette is one of the many mastheads on display on the easel. Although it was the most successful newspaper in the colonies in 1815, long after Franklin’s death, it ceased publication and reportedly became a paper called The Saturday Evening Post. The connection is nebulous, but we remain determined to say we were started by Ben Franklin, so work with us here. Said paper was in dire financial straits by the 1890s and was purchased for $1,000 in 1897 by Cyrus Curtis, publisher of The Ladies’ Home Journal. From time to time, the Post changed its appearance; hence, the varied mastheads you see here.

Norman Rockwell, himself a rather important piece of Post history, depicts art designer Herbert Lubalin deciding on a clean, streamlined “POST.”

“Giant Clock on New Year’s Eve”– January 1, 1949

Not everyone has a fancy party to attend on New Year’s Eve. Some of us have to work, like this less-than-enthused office cleaner. The artist was visiting Gardone, Italy when he found a local to model as his scrubwoman and “invented a skyscraper to go around her neck,” according to Post editors.

Constantin Alajalov was born in 1900 to well-off Russian parents. They were able to give him the advantage of schooling, but his professional training did not last long; he had barely started at the University of Petrograd when the Russian Revolution broke out. He traveled around the country with a group of artists, painting posters and murals of Communist propaganda in order to survive.

“No Desserts”– March 12, 1949

Ah, so begins the New Year for many of us. It would not do to spoof a “stout” lady these days, but it worked in 1949.

Alajalov became the court painter for a khan in Persia. The khan was hanged by his successor, so there went that position. He moved on to Constantinople and painted murals and posters before landing in New York in 1923. Within three years, he sold his first cover to The New Yorker.

“Sunday Paper”– February 21, 1948

This late-sleeping Sunday slacker is one of my favorite Alajalov covers. The poor sinner really wants that Sunday paper and the milk for his coffee, but who is having a confab outside his door? None other than the minister, of course.

Alajalov eventually became the only person to do covers for both The New Yorker and The Saturday Evening Post, despite the fact that both magazines required exclusivity in their cover artists. He was naturalized in the United States and spent the rest of his life traveling and painting in and out of the country.

“Fall Gab Session”– November 7, 1953

This wonderful autumn cover from 1953 shows a gossip session in full force. It looks like the Smith boy is seeing the Jones girl and the ladies of the town will only be too happy to spread the rumor that they are in love—confidentially, of course.

“Trying on the Old Uniform”– 5/31/1958

What a difference 10 or 15 years makes! It is now 1958, and slipping into her old WWII WAVE uniform for a Memorial Day parade is not as easy as the charming young matron thought. (WAVES was an acronym for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, began in 1942. It was technically US Naval Reserves, but the term “WAVES” caught on.) What did the 1958 crop of WAVES think of Post cover? They loved it! The WAVES director asked for the painting to be hung permanently in Washington and a WAVE at the Anacostia Naval Air Station asked for 50 autographed reprints for her crew. The artist happily granted both requests.

“Alajalov Photo”– 10/06/45

The October 6, 1945 issue of the Post not only boasted Alajalov’s first cover for that magazine, but a playful photo in the “Keeping Posted” column. The artist is sitting in his comfy chair next to a charming piano. The piano, however, as with most of the room’s “furnishings,” is not real. “If a room seems to need a door,” Post editors noted, “Alajalov paints himself a door. If it needs a window and a view, he paints both window and view, and can thereby look out on anything he wants.”

Of course, the room has limitations as well as advantages. “Guests cannot sit down and stay,” editors noted, “which is a good thing, and Alajalov has furniture of any period…he fancies. He can have the throne Catherine of Russia sat in, if he likes—in fact, he can have Catherine of Russia, gazing at him in admiration and ardor.”

“Bridge Hand Disturbs Sleep” from 12/1/62

At the age of sixty-two, a retiring Alajalov submitted his final Saturday Evening Post cover. The December 1, 1962 issue depicted a bridge player distressed over a game where she should have bid this or played that or should not have withheld the ace of diamonds.

Roger T. Reed of Illustration House is quoted as saying, “When I met him in 1984, the artist was a refined and patrician figure, with reason to be proud of a rich body of work in fine illustrative art.” The artist passed away in New York at the age of eighty-seven.

“A Christmas After-Dinner Dream” by Kate Greenaway

It’s 1875 and The Saturday Evening Post is more like an oversized newspaper than the slick magazine we’ve known in our lifetime. So imagine turning to the last page of the paper and seeing the page dominated by this Kate Greenaway drawing. If you’d like to know what all the craziness of the girl’s dream is about, we have a special Christmas gift for you: a PDF file of the story, “A Christmas After-Dinner Dream” in all its Victorian charm: Click Here

“Angels” by Charles Louis Hinton

“Full soon the midnight bells, that through the year tolled out the passing days, rang joyously, and all the East was radiant with the Star,” reads the 1898 Christmas story, “Legends of the Child Who is King” by none other than legendary publisher, George Horace Lorimer. The exquisite artwork was by Charles Louis Hinton.

“Is He Coming?” by Norman Rockwell

Yes, Virginia, Norman Rockwell did artwork for publications other than The Saturday Evening Post. These adorable children hoping for a glimpse of Santa were originally on the cover of Life magazine in 1920. In 1975, this was the cover of The Post. It would be interesting to know if there is other artwork out there that appeared on the covers of two different publications. But, wait! Is that…? It is! It’s the sound of reindeer hooves!

“Choir Boys Will Be Boys” by Frances Tipton Hunter

Awww, aren’t they little angels? We didn’t say perfect little angels. But at least they can set aside their differences long enough to sing of the joy of the season. This is from 1938 by Frances Tipton Hunter. If you haven’t had your fill of cute today, see more covers by this delightful artist:
“The Art of Frances Tipton Hunter”

“All Wrapped Up in Christmas” by Richard Sargent

Some wrappers are all thumbs. Post editors suggested that he need not attach a tag: it will be obvious that Pops was the one who wrapped the gift. And it will be just as apparent that he would go through this ordeal for one person only—the one he loves best.

“Christmas in Hiding” – George Hughes

This 1960 cover from artist George Hughes is one of my favorites. Mom and Dad are hiding gifts…and they are not alone. It would appear a mole has infiltrated the jackets hanging in the closet, and not the four-legged kind. It is not clear whether the spy gets away clean or not.

“Triple Self Portrait”– Feb 13, 1960

Rockwell pokes fun at himself in 1960’s “Triple Self-Portrait.” The Rockwell in the mirror has foggy glasses. Rockwell’s reasoning for that was so “I couldn’t actually see what I looked like—a homely, lanky fellow—and therefore, I could stretch the truth just a bit and paint myself looking more suave and debonair than I actually am.”

There are a lot of interesting details other than the debonair gent at the easel. A student of great artists, Rockwell had self-portraits of masters pinned to the upper right of his work. We see Durer, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and a funky post-cubist Picasso, all of which Rockwell himself painted.

Rockwell was thrilled when, on a trip to Paris, he saw the helmet that sits atop his easel in an antique shop. He was sure it was centuries old, of Greek origin…or perhaps Roman. After purchasing it, he stopped to observe a fire. He realized the same helmet he was sure was a precious antique was typical Parisian fireman’s gear.

“Blank Canvas” – Oct 8, 1938

Rockwell had done approximately one hundred and forty covers by the time of this whimsical 1938 painting. The Post wasn’t the same without renowned editor George Horace Lorimer (who passed away the previous year) and the great artist was restless. So he did a cover about running dry of ideas because…well, he was. The young artist is a parody of himself: tall, lanky and with the ever-present pipe tucked into a back pocket. There sits that danged blank canvas atop of which rests a pocket watch and lurking deadline. Even the horseshoe isn’t bringing any help…perhaps because it’s upside down.

“The Holdout” – Feb 14, 1959

There is a holdout in this tense jury scene. It has been a long hard deliberation if we read the table detritus and debris on the floor. A lone but determined female is wreaking havoc in the man’s world of 1959.

Most of the models are Rockwell’s friends and neighbors. The artist enjoyed small-town life as he knew many of the faces and could often find just the right one for a particular scene right at home. The gentleman leaning down behind the woman and attempting to be persuasive is our beloved artist and model himself. Rockwell made a sort of Jack Benny joke about it—he appeared in the painting because he wouldn’t have to pay himself a model’s fee. But, we’re sorry, Norman; it appears the lady is immovable.

“A Family Tree” -October 24, 1959

This family tree is a regular “Where’s Waldo?” Okay, “Where’s Norman?” Who is in your family tree? A saloon gal? An aristocrat? A pirate? The possibilities intrigued Rockwell. Before reading on, click on the cover for a close look and see if you can pick out Rockwell. Hint: It’s hard!

Here’s another hint: Most of the men: the gentleman in the cowboy hat, the prospector with the full beard, the Confederate and Yankee soldiers, the pirate, etc., are the same man, and that model was not the artist. How the artist could do so much with one face defies belief. The dour woman with the cameo at her neck (middle right) is…are you ready…the same man! The rather sour, straight-laced minister next to her is Mr. Rockwell himself.

“The Homecoming” -December 25, 1948

How I love this cover! Not only do we see Norman (upper right with his pipe), but the whole family! Hugging the blond young man is Rockwell’s wife, Mary, and yes, although we only see his back, that is eldest son, Jerry, on the receiving end of the embrace. The happy young man in the plaid shirt is middle son, Tommy, and the youngest boy, Peter can be seen with glasses at the far left.

Besides the Rockwell clan, there are various friends and neighbors. One of these was little Sharon O’Neill in the red skirt. Rockwell thought she was so darn cute he painted her twice – as twins! And next to Tommy Plaidshirt is another delightful artist playing the role of Grandma in this happy scene—Rockwell’s friend, Grandma Moses.