Norman Rockwell: Father and Son and JFK

Norman Rockwell was a great story teller. He had the remarkable ability to capture a single moment and make it relatable, poignant and often humorous. His talent for reaching an audience with such clarity has made him a favorite of filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, just two of Rockwell's most avid collectors.

 

The Surovek Gallery is pleased to offer two of Norman Rockwell's finest works: Portrait of President John F. Kennedy and Autumn: Father and Son Bird Hunting.

 

Portrait of President John F. Kennedy

In 1960, Norman Rockwell was commissioned by The Saturday Evening Post to paint portraits of Presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon. Rockwell went to Kennedy's home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts to photograph the young (43-year-old) presidential hopeful. He said that he wanted to create a portrait that presented Kennedy as a serious, dignified candidate. Rockwell said that he was pleased with the results, "His expression was just what I wanted," Rockwell said, "-serious with a certain dignity, but relaxed and pleasant, not hard."

 

The portrait was published on the October 29, 1960 cover of The Saturday Evening Post, and again, bordered with a black band of mourning, for the slain President, on December 14, 1963.

 

Rockwell was commissioned to do a second portrait of John F. Kennedy, during his presidency in 1963. The portrait, available at the Surovek Gallery, is of a thoughtful, mature John F. Kennedy. The iconic portrait was on the April cover of The Saturday Evening Post, just seven months before his assassination.

 

Father and Son Hunting

The relationship between father and son was a theme that Norman Rockwell often portrayed in his work. Rockwell's three sons appeared in his work, along with friends and neighbors. The entire family appeared in the Saturday Evening Post's 1948 Christmas cover. Rockwell's oldest son, Jarvis, has his back to the viewer, and is getting a hug from his mother, Mary. To Mary's left, in a plaid shirt is Rockwell's middle son, Tommy, and on the far left, wearing glasses, is youngest son, Peter. To Mary's right, smoking his signature pipe, is Rockwell himself, surrounded by the friends and neighbors he used as models.

 

Not surprisingly, each of Rockwell's sons has had a career in the arts. A documentary, Jarvis Rockwell, recently released, that follows the oldest Rockwell son, over a twelve year period, chronicling his life and art.

 

Trailer for recently released documentary Jarvis Rockwell.

 

Middle son, Tommy, is an author of children's books, including How to Eat Fried Worms, which sold 3 million copies and received the Mark Twain Award, the California Young Reader Medal and the Sequoyah Book Award. Youngest son, Peter, now 82, is a sculptor. He spent most of his life, 56 years, living and working in Rome as a sculptor, teacher and art historian.

 

Norman Rockwell Works at the Surovek Gallery

Please contact us if you would like more information about the Portrait of John F Kennedy, Father and Son Bird Hunting or any of the other fine works available at the Surovek Gallery.

 

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November 8, 2018