Western Post-War Illustration

Norman Rockwell 

Norman Rockwell was a well known American Illustrator most famous for his work for The Saturday Evening Post, painting his first cover for the magazine in 1916. Over the next forty seven year, Rockwell would paint three hundred and twenty-one covers for the Post. With his work seen and loved by many, Rockwell's illustrations became reflective of American culture, and everyday life, finding a story to tell even in the most mundane of aspects of life. Over his lifetime, Rockwell created over four thousand original pieces of work in his life, with the majority of his surviving works in public collections worldwide, and still to this day loved and appreciated by many. 

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Rockwell's artwork made the most of reality, and ideology, in that scenarios were familiar and interactions were seen day to day, as well as familiar to most. Yet at the same time, exaggerated features highlighted the idealised idea of America Rockwell was striving to present in his work.  

​Below is a photograph Rockwell used as reference for one of his works, showing how much he relied on the day to day settings to use as reference for his pieces. He heavily focused upon the interactions that were taking place, and using them to tell a story within his work, but too create something that people could relate to, to create a sense of familiarity. 

Above is a photograph Rockwell used as reference for one of his works, showing how much he relied on the day to day settings to use as reference for his pieces. He heavily focused upon the interactions that were taking place, and using them to tell a story within his work, but too create something that people could relate to, to create a sense of familiarity. 

“Most of the time, I try to entertain with my Post covers, once in a while I get an uncontrollable urge to say something serious."  - Norman Rockwell 

In 1964, Rockwell did just that. In the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, Rockwell painted, 'The Problem We All Live With' depicting  Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old African American girl, on her way to William Frantz Elementary School, an all-white public school, on November 14, 1960, during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis. The painting was originally published in the January 14, 1964, issue of Look. Rockwell had ended his contract with the Saturday Evening Post the year prior  due to limits the magazine placed on his desire to express political statements through his paintings.

This piece of work was so significant, that in 2011 the painting was installed in the Oval Office of the White House as Barack Obama took office.  

Even years after his death in 1979, Norman Rockwell's work is highly appreciated by various types of artists worldwide, even outside the world of art critiques. In 1981, Canadian band 'Prism' released their fifth studio album 'Small Change', which featured Rockwell's 1954 painting, 'Girl in Mirror' originally created for the cover of the March 6, 1954 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.

More recently, Lana Del Rey made tribute to the American artist in her sixth studio album 'Norman Fucking Rockwell!' making reference to the idealized portrayal of American life even when times seemed rough though, and from time to time found room to say something more important than the idealised idea of America he illustrated in his Saturday Evening Post covers - a sentiment Lana Del Rey shares, understands and strives to illustrate similarly in her work. 

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​Barbara Bradley

Barbara Bradley was another well known illustrator following the war, well known for her depiction of children and specialising in expressive facial expressions to capture and tell her own story through her works. Much like Rockwell, Bradley's work relied heavily on reality, whilst using a painting style that was detailed and created a sense of ideology within her work. Her work created for businesses like Bank of America, Borden's, Dole, and C&H Sugar have brought her many national awards. Outside of her own artistic career, Bradley taught many others and was director of the School of Illustration at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco for 25 years and wrote and illustrated her own book 'Drawing People: How to Portray the Clothed Figure', standing out as a successful female artist in a heavy male orientated workplace.