Rockwell might have gotten the idea for his February 14, 1959, cover from a movie released two years earlier.
In 12 Angry Men, Henry Fonda played a dissenting juror who eventually persuaded the other 11 men on a jury to vote with him. As in the movie, this deliberation has taken hours, indicated by the crumpled ballots on the floor and the cloud of smoke overhead.
What made this cover more than just a reprise of the movie is that Rockwell’s holdout is a strong-minded woman, holding fast to her principles, at a time when women jurors were still a rarity in some states, and not permitted in some others.
Featured image: Detail from The Holdout (©SEPS)
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Comments
You see batman, we live in a misogynistic society
This cover very likely WAS inspired by the Henry Fonda film, but with Rockwell’s twist of the one female juror. Thanks for larger, upper portion ‘close up’ at the top. The details are Rockwell perfect, and the full view cover below shows how much time has passed just from looking at the floor; crumpled ballots, awful cigarette butts and all.
It looks like there are 5 men smoking here which is (now) extremely outrageous, even taking the era into consideration. We don’t know how long from this point that a decision is finally reached, but hopefully was REALLY soon! I love how Rockwell so perfectly blends himself into this cover as one of the jurors.