Ron Schick

This is a treasure of a book. Splendidly and sumptuously designed, it showcases both the perspicacity, the art and the process of Norman Rockwell who captured social life in mid-20th century America like no other. Every painting tells a story, whose details were captured and arranged on camera beforehand. The photos and the paintings show how the game of production and reproduction added, removed or changed some of those details. Most of the times, Rockwell condensed different elements into a single frame. This dense layering provides the rich texture that makes a picture a true Rockwell.

The book also offers a nostalgic glimpse of another era: The depression, World War II and post-War America, a country of industry and agriculture, of community and public places, of time slow as molasses. A time of progress and wonder, but also a time of deep inequality and racial tensions.

Norman Rockwell also marks the end of an era. The displacement of painting by cheaper, faster and more life-like photography. The technique of photography, that helped Rockwell create his little worlds, ultimately destroyed its commercial application. This book preserves the vestiges of a dying art.… (altro)