one of my favorite moments in washington has been the unexpected discovery of norman rockwell, the artist. i was familiar with the name, but not much more. i was touring washington with a lady from australia who loved norman, so we ended up going to a special exhibition of his work. the paintings were on loan from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's personal collection.
norman rockwell was a 20th-century american painter and illustrator. he made cover illustrations for the saturday evening post for over 40 years. his works are generally idealized or sentimental portrayals of american life.
apparently, according to wikipedia, rockwell's work was dismissed by art critics in his lifetime who felt he wasn't a serious painter. rockwell's art is sentimental, and critics considered it overly sweet. i actually appreciated that sentimentality in his work because it takes you back to a different time.
it seems ridiculous to me that he would not be considered a serious painter because he is such a talented artist. he was a methodic artist and there was such thought behind each one of his paintings. he would hire models and stage pictures -- down to the exact details that he wanted. then he would sketch the pictures in black and white multiple times, to see the play of lights and shadows. then, he would paint.
his paintings are absolutely mesmerizing. the colors in his paintings are absolutely breathtaking. they are so vivid and bright, they leapt off the canvas. his attention to details was impressive. his paintings had such depth and perspective. i wanted to buy a postcard or a souvenir at the shop to take a piece of the exhibition with me, but a copy of the images didn't convey the same aw as actually standing close to the paintings and seeing all of the detail. also none of the copies came close to the original vivid colors. with that in mind, i am posting a couple of pictures of his paintings. if ever you have the chance to see a norman rockwell exhibition first hand, take it. it is absolutely moving.
i now consider norman rockwell as one of my favorite artists. discovering his art was another of my pleasant surprises in washington.
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