Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) patriotic American commercial painter. Famous for a series of covers for The Saturday Evening Post, notably those painted during the 1940s and 50s, especially the Four Freedoms series (Freedom from Want, Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship and Freedom from Fear, from a speech by Franklin Delano Roosevelt) painted in 1943 and later used to promote war bonds and Rosie the Riveter, also 1943. All his works were rather overly sweet and mythologised American existence.

Born in New York City and educated at the Academy of Design and the Art Student’s League. He then worked for the BSA publication Boy’s Life before submitting his first successful cover painting to the Post in 1916. He left the Post in 1963, having painted 321 covers in total.