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Norman Rockwell: A Sixty Year Retrospective.
Beautifully bound and illustrated coffee-table book produced for an exhibition tour of Norman Rockwell paintings organized by Bernard Danenberg Galleries, New York.
155 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 24, 2020
I long for stories about shopping trips for physical books. It matters that I recall where I discovered special ones and the deals I got. There is lake country we visit in the summer, that is our happy place and our favourite charity shop is there. That is where I bought “Norman Rockwell: A Sixty-Year Retrospective”. This is the copy published in my birth year. I can see by handwriting and a gift tag inside, that it must have been kept by the same family until I bought it. A very special note gifts it from a couple to their Grandma the year of its release. You can bet that I am keeping the personalized gift tag in this book. I will give this book to someone who will relish it and its handwritten gift note.
People touch and share books. That is magical to me, far past the story inside. I might pick up the magnetism of feelings it passed along. I want to be reassured that there are plenty of us big readers willing to seek out and buy the real article. Buying them, however cheaply, involves human interaction; in the pages and in the transaction.
This art book as a retrospective is fascinating. I enjoyed taking in the history and all of the portraiture. Although I am Canadian, I had certainly heard of Norman Rockwell, who was equated with depictions of common, relatable lifestyles and family idylls. That was accurate generally but Norman covered political, military, and foreign terrain. His subjects and styles shifted. I learned a lot about the growth of an artist and his environment in sixty years. I recognized a few paintings. However, last week, I brought home a booklet of my Mom’s, containing different images that I have seen. Both are excellent compilations.
People touch and share books. That is magical to me, far past the story inside. I might pick up the magnetism of feelings it passed along. I want to be reassured that there are plenty of us big readers willing to seek out and buy the real article. Buying them, however cheaply, involves human interaction; in the pages and in the transaction.
This art book as a retrospective is fascinating. I enjoyed taking in the history and all of the portraiture. Although I am Canadian, I had certainly heard of Norman Rockwell, who was equated with depictions of common, relatable lifestyles and family idylls. That was accurate generally but Norman covered political, military, and foreign terrain. His subjects and styles shifted. I learned a lot about the growth of an artist and his environment in sixty years. I recognized a few paintings. However, last week, I brought home a booklet of my Mom’s, containing different images that I have seen. Both are excellent compilations.
December 18, 2024
(4.5) My only complaint is that there wasn't more.
I really enjoy Rockwell. his art is such tender and nostalgic stuff, yet he tells a story so effortlessly. it's just the kind of stuff that makes me wanna puff on an old pipe and call my grandfather, maybe go sailing.
the evolution of his subject matter into the 60s is so great to watch, and i especially love his post-war paintings. rockwell knows how to unite people, and how to see (or redefine) great american values into our little lives.
I really enjoy Rockwell. his art is such tender and nostalgic stuff, yet he tells a story so effortlessly. it's just the kind of stuff that makes me wanna puff on an old pipe and call my grandfather, maybe go sailing.
the evolution of his subject matter into the 60s is so great to watch, and i especially love his post-war paintings. rockwell knows how to unite people, and how to see (or redefine) great american values into our little lives.
May 5, 2021
These are full page reproductions of Rockwell's most iconic paintings. VERY VERY wonderful to look through. The detail is stunning.
July 5, 2014
Excellent!
March 31, 2021
A nice look at Norman Rockwell's work and an overview of his biographical details.
February 25, 2025
Beautifully bound and illustrated coffee-table book produced for an exhibition tour of Norman Rockwell paintings organized by Bernard Danenberg Galleries, New York.
October 10, 2019
I've always found it strange art that is extremely popular with the masses is eschewed by the critics of the day. So Norman Rockwell is regarded as an illustrator rather than an "artist". I wonder how history will view it. I must confess that I've always really loved Rockwell's paintings. Maybe it's his realism....maybe it's his sense of humour....or his cartoonists eye for the essence of every day life that he captures so well and all of us can identify with it. Even I can. And I'm not American. This is a large format book...large enough to capture some of the details from Rockwell's paintings...though he painted them large and they were reduced for the magazine covers etc.....which helps with the detail. The exhibition and book cover a large slice of his artistic career from 1910 to 1970. And there are a large number of his paintings and drawings over that period included. He died in 1978 at the age of 84 so I guess in 1970 he was 76 and able to look back on a long and illustrious career. There are a few large foe-out pictures but most are confined to the rather large page sizes of the book. I discovered, in my researches that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were both collectors of Rockwell's paintings. "That -- drama, pathos and passion, inexorably bound -- is Rockwell's legacy. His, Spielberg reminds us, was a "benign but important agenda," a desire for community, an appreciation of responsibility and patriotism, and the life-long conviction that the key to understanding our nation was to embrace our neighbor.
Anyway, bottom line, I really enjoyed the book...it told me quite a lot about Rockwells' methodology: loose sketch of an idea then gathering props, costumes models, individual drawings of the various parts, or photographs, then a full scale drawing in great detail, then colour sketches, and finally putting it all together in the final (oil) painting.No wonder his work is so carefully crafted!
Happy to give this book five stars. I really enjoyed it.
Anyway, bottom line, I really enjoyed the book...it told me quite a lot about Rockwells' methodology: loose sketch of an idea then gathering props, costumes models, individual drawings of the various parts, or photographs, then a full scale drawing in great detail, then colour sketches, and finally putting it all together in the final (oil) painting.No wonder his work is so carefully crafted!
Happy to give this book five stars. I really enjoyed it.
January 11, 2015
It's funny how ingrained Norman Rockwell has become into American identity even after all of these years. Maybe you're aware of his artwork through that one painting in the dentist's office, or a history textbook that points to a particular frame of his work as embodying an era. Almost any American is aware of him and might even find themselves flipping through this book, pointing at a particular image, and saying "Hey, I've seen this before!"
That being said, this book is much better for getting associated with the man's work than with his life. The author is constantly referencing the man's autobiography, which leads me to believe that it would be a much better source for learning about his life then here. Still, it is enjoyable to paw through this book and see an entire generation go past your eyes.
That being said, this book is much better for getting associated with the man's work than with his life. The author is constantly referencing the man's autobiography, which leads me to believe that it would be a much better source for learning about his life then here. Still, it is enjoyable to paw through this book and see an entire generation go past your eyes.
February 23, 2019
To be fair, this is a picture book with maybe 90 minutes worth of written biography. But it’s Norman Rockwell’s life and work; it’s never disappointing.
I would suppose it’s hard to care about this artist without first experiencing his art, and for that reason this book (4/1 pictures to words) is a good primer.
This history is abbreviated but the display of Rockwell paintings are not. I grew up looking at these famous paintings all my life, and they are less a memory and more a part of me. They are nostalgia incarnate. And the best part is that they are as warm and comforting as they are timeless yet relevant.
As art is both personal and subjective I won’t badger you into loving Norman Rockwell, but I would plead with you to see it for yourself...
I would suppose it’s hard to care about this artist without first experiencing his art, and for that reason this book (4/1 pictures to words) is a good primer.
This history is abbreviated but the display of Rockwell paintings are not. I grew up looking at these famous paintings all my life, and they are less a memory and more a part of me. They are nostalgia incarnate. And the best part is that they are as warm and comforting as they are timeless yet relevant.
As art is both personal and subjective I won’t badger you into loving Norman Rockwell, but I would plead with you to see it for yourself...
May 18, 2018
Art book. Had very little text but it was concise and educational about Norman and his work. Learned a lot about him and got to enjoy looking over a great collection of his work. I laughed 3 times, out loud, love NR!
October 23, 2018
I did not know how successful Norman Rockwell was. This was a fascinating book about an extraordinary man. The artwork chosen for the book was also great.
January 3, 2019
An interesting history of Rockwell, his style and his paintings.
April 13, 2025
'canvas for the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (1970)' on the last page !!
June 21, 2025
A succinct, yet thoughtful intro to this one of a kind artist. I’m grateful for how his art fills me with ideas and makes me laugh.
September 14, 2023
Although well edited with commentary throughout, the paintings themselves tell the whole story . . . of a slice of Americana from 1916 thru 1970.
In my uncleansed opinion, Michelangelo in marble and Norman Rockwell in paint are masters at portraying the human hand.
In my uncleansed opinion, Michelangelo in marble and Norman Rockwell in paint are masters at portraying the human hand.
September 17, 2011
Norman Rockwell is in my top five artists list . He captured the pleasant whimsical side of early Americana . Half the time , in his later works , you can't decide if it's a photograph or a painting . Though Rockwell had an affinity towards middle class life he was not limited to it . He grew as an artist and was able to branch out after a successful career with Post . If you are somehow not familiar with Rockwell's work , I suggest you familiarize yourself with him ! He is wonderful :)
February 1, 2008
I love Norman Rockwell. This book is full of wonderful photos of his art.
April 14, 2012
Nice introduction to Rockwell's history and work but not much biography.
January 21, 2017
bought for a gift. nb: spanking painting, page 61. $4.00.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews