Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera

The “Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera” exhibition taps the Norman Rockwell Museum’s newly digitized photographic archive.

Quoting from here:

Photography has been a benevolent tool for artists from Thomas Eakins and Edgar Degas to David Hockney. And to illustrators, always on the lookout for better ways to meet deadlines, the camera has long been a natural ally. But the thousands of photographs Norman Rockwell created as studies for his iconic images are a case apart. A natural storyteller, Rockwell envisioned his narrative scenarios down to the smallest detail. Yet at the easel he was an absolute literalist who rarely painted directly from his imagination.

Instead, he first brought his ideas to life in studio sessions, staging photographs that are fully realized works of art in their own right. Selecting props and locations, choosing and directing his models, he carefully orchestrated each element of his design for the camera before beginning to paint. Meticulously composed and richly detailed, Norman Rockwell’s study photographs mirror his masterworks in a tangible parallel universe. Photography opened a door to the keenly observed authenticity that defines Norman Rockwell’s art. And for us today it is a revelation to discover that so many of his most memorable characters were, in fact, real people.

Curator and author Ron Schick has undertaken a frame-by-frame study of the Norman Rockwell Museum’s newly digitized photography archive, made possible by a Save America’s Treasures project that has preserved a Rockwell archive of almost 20,000 negatives and made accessible the full range of the artist’s reference photography. Mr. Schick’s companion book Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera is available through Little, Brown and Company.

I have not had an opportunity to read the companion book (see image below) but, being a fan of Norman Rockwell’s work, I am sure that I would love having this one added to my collection.

The images below (used with permission) show samples of photographs paired with their final paintings. Others examples are available for viewing by going here.

Reference photo for Norman Rockwell’s Marriage Counselor, 1963. Photo by Bill Scovill. Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL. From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum.	Marriage Counselor, Norman Rockwell, 1963. Oil on canvas, 31 1/4” x 38 1/4” Intended for The Saturday Evening Post, unpublished. Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL. From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum.
Reference photo for Norman Rockwell’s Shuffleton’s Barbershop, 1950. Photo by Gene Pelham. Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL. From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum.	Shuffleton’s Barbershop, Norman Rockwell, 1950. Oil on canvas, 46 1/8” x 43 3/8”. Cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, April 29, 1950. (c)1950 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN Collection of The Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Reference photo for Norman Rockwell’s Tattoo Artist, 1944. Photo by Gene Pelham. Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL. From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum	Tattoo Artist, Norman Rockwell, 1944. Oil on canvas, 43 1/8” x 33 1/8”. Cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, March 4, 1944. (c)1944 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN. Collection of The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York. Gift of the artist.
Reference photos for Norman Rockwell’s Soda Jerk, 1953. Photos by Gene Pelham. Photo montage created by Ron Schick. Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL. From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum.	Soda Jerk, Norman Rockwell, 1953. Oil on canvas, 36” x 34”. Cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, August 22, 1953. (c)1953 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN. Collection of Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio. Bequest of J. Willard Loos.
Reference photo for Norman Rockwell’s The Runaway, 1958. Photographer unidentified. Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL. From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum.	The Runaway, Norman Rockwell, 1958. Oil on canvas, 35 3/4” x 33 1/2’” Cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, September 20, 1958. (c)1958 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN. From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum.
Reference photo for Norman Rockwell’s Little Girl Observing Lovers on a Train, 1944. Photo by Gene Pelham. Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL. From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum.	Little Girl Observing Lovers on a Train, Norman Rockwell, 1944. Oil on canvas, 22” x 20” Cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, August 12, 1944 Collection of Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Robert M. Boynton.