Norman Rockwell Adventures:

Following that somewhat irreverent title, I want to say I have nothing but respect for this man. He is truly an American icon. I had a paperback version of his life way back in the '70s and found it delightful (as the man, himself, must have been). Fast forward to 2009 and a trip to the Detroit Institute of Art where a huge body of his work was on display for several months. As I toured the exhibit, I recalled the honest and endearing words from that long ago paperback and realized that I wanted to read them again. "Adventures of a Illustrator" arrived and I was amazed. I now have a beautiful book on my coffee table that is filled, not only with his life story, told with humor and humility, but a generous number of illustrations; early and late, color and black and white. including all of his POST covers. Anyone who has admired this man's work over the years, from his story-filled Saturday Evening Post covers to his sensitive Freedom posters and presidential portraits, will enjoy learning the life story behind this gentle man's work.

I bought this book hoping to glean secrets of how to become a famous illustrator. What I got was the best entertainment since Mark Twain's "Roughing It". It's not, "Well, I was born here, I had a good (or bad) childhood, I went to art school, and became famous". Norman Rockwell had a quirky family, quirky neighbors, played boyhood pranks, had little boy models play pranks on him, and served in WWI by painting portraits of all his officers and quirky navy pals. He goes into ineresting detail about everyone. He tells about his teachers and classes. One teacher was George Bridgeman. (He didn't know who Bridgeman was, so he flipped a coin to see if he should sign up under him or the "other" teacher.) When he talks about his art classes, he mentions what the teachers said, and what he learned. (George Bridgman would rate all the paintings in the room, and Rockwell was dissappointed that he was only number 2 and never number 1. George Bridgeman told him, (implying that the number 1 guy was just the best at copying Bridgman), "Don't try to be number 1, be an ORIGINAL). He talks about when he submitted his first Post Cover, how intimidated he was, and if he could just paint ONE, he would be famous, happy and rich for life. (He went all the way down to the POST building, and almost didn't go inside.) I have not finished the book yet, but I don't care if Rockwell ever becomes famous or not, I am having so much fun finding out what happens next. Reading this book is like sitting down with Rockwell at his house and saying, "Tell us a funny story about something that happened in your life." He lights his pipe, thinks a minute, and decribes it so that you can see it all: the background, the people, the dialect, and then, the funny climax -- just like a post cover. I want tell you everything in the book to entice you to buy it, but then you would know all the punch lines, and I can't tell them as well as he can. So buy it, snuggle up on the couch, and have a fun time.

Rockwell's a fine writer and his is an accessible style. His career took him many different places in the mid-20th century, so you'll be surprised at the places he ends up and the people he meets. The clear message is that he worked hard, very hard, to sustain his career. The second message is that he held a skeptical view of the notion of art as an end in itself, and relished contact with his public. The book really is about his professional career. He tucks away his private life, and perhaps this really is as it should be. This is the kind of book that makes a good gift: everyone knows Rockwell's art, everyone has his own favorite(s), but no one knows the man behind the picture! As noted above, the ending of the book, journaling the creation of the "family tree" painting, is a good look inside his creative process.

This is a wonderful book about the life of Norman Rockwell as only he could have written. I enjoyed the book from start to finish and I have recommended it to all my friends. It gives you an understanding of his life and his discriptions of all the characters in his life are really fun. I have never read a book with such fun descriptions. He went through a lot of phases in his life and moved whenever he found he was lacking of ideas. If you like Norman Rockwell paintings, this book will help you enjoy the painting even more. What can I say - This book is really fun!!

Often we are discouraged from finding out too much about our heroes and icons, lest we be disappointed with what we find. Rockwell, however, shines as one who is thoroughly interesting, although different from what one might imagine in his memoir/autobiography. I suppose one might expect the celebrated illustrator (he was careful to always distinguish himself as an illustrator and not an artist) to something above the fray, laughing at the foibles of the human condition. Here we find that Rockwell was just as neurotic, and full of fancy as any of his subjects. His life, however, wasn't always a Rockwell painting. After a very unsuccessful first marriage, Rockwell found love in the arms of his second wife. Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is when Rockwell takes us through a Saturday Evening Post cover from concept to painting. You couldn't imagine all the second guessing Rockwell did, even after the painting was done. If you're more than just a casual Rockwell fan, you must read this. You may be stripped of a few illusions, but you will definitely appreciate the personality behind the brush.