NORMAN ROCKWELL’S SNOW GLOBES (I)
Snow globes inspired by the covers that Norman Rockwell, one of the most popular and beloved American illustrators, did for the Saturday Evening Post magazine. A real classic!!!
Although his work was developed during the last century, Norman Rockwell (1984-1978) remains one of the most recognized and popular American illustrators. Outside the USA it is very likely that, even without knowing his name, at some point you have seen some of his creations reproduced. Personally, I have a weakness for his work, and when it meets the snow globes…❤️❤️❤️
About Norman Rockwell
Throughout his career he collaborated with a wide range of media and publishers, but Norman Rockwell owes much of his popularity to the covers he created for more than forty years for the Saturday Evening Post, at that time a weekly publication. Perhaps these covers reflected, in an idealized and excessively romantic way, everyday life and American popular culture.
This certain idealization was the main reason why during the sixties and seventies, Norman Rockwell’s popularity was not matched by his recognition as an artist. Today this vision is changing, and the social commitment shown in much of his work is recognized. Even renowned creators such as Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg have recognized Rockwell’s work as inspirational at some point in their careers and point to him as a “visual storyteller“.
Norman Rockwell and Saturday Evening Post
In 1916 N. Rockwell published his first cover, “Boy and Baby Carriage”, in the Saturday Evening Post. It was the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration that ended in 1963 (December 14). 322 illustrations that recreated an idyllic vision of scenes from everyday life and more important moments such as Christmas, Thanksgiving or Valentine’s Day. According to the Norman Rockwell Museum, at some point the artist stated: “I unconsciously decided that, even if it wasn’t an ideal world, it should be, and so I painted only the ideal aspects of it…. Just crafty grandfathers who played ball with the kids and boys who fished in logs and rode circuses in the backyard.” .
An ideal world starring characters of different age, status and backgrounds, but with a common thread: they represented the white American majority. There was no place for ethnic minorities unless they appeared in menial occupations.
This was one of the reasons why Rockwell left the weekly to collaborate with more liberal publications such as Look or Life. In them he expressed his social commitment through works that would earn him wide recognition such as the well-known The Problem We All Live With, which you can see in the image. If you feel like it, this video takes a look at different moments and messages of Rockwell’s work.
Nevertheless, when in 1971 the Saturday Evening Post resumed publication after a two-year hiatus, it dedicated its front page to Norman Rockwell. They summed up their long collaboration in one sentence: “The artist’s slender hands created a world that will never fade as long as his canvases survive”.
If you are curious, here you can see all the SEP covers grouped by themes and authors. If you like illustration, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
Snow globes by Norman Rockwell
Norma Rockwell’s work has been, and continues to be, reproduced in all kinds of objects: posters, stamps and card games through plates, mugs, badges and figurines of all kinds.
Of course, snow globes could not be missing. They are not very difficult to find on the Internet if you search for “Norman Rockwell Snow Globes”. Mostly you’ll find second hand products and their state of preservation is diverse but almost always acceptable. In general the prices are affordable, between 20$-40$, although when buying outside USA the price increases. Most of these Norman Rockwell snow globes are produced in the eighties and nineties of the last century.
Here I present to you only snow globes inspired by Saturday Evening Post covers. As I write this entry all of them are for sale on ebay.com along with many other models that, most probably, will deserve a second entry. I hope you like them!!!!!
“Santa and expenses book” (12-04-1.920)
In this illustration, quite successful rendered as a snow globe, Rockwell makes us think that Santa Claus always has children in his thoughts. Even as he tries to balance on his ledger, his mind imagines their smiling faces and we believe he is trying hist best to make them happy with the presents they will receive on Christmas Day. N. Rockwell’s attention to detail can be seen in the bookmark. In addition to a nice border, even the SC anagram of Santa Claus can be seen.
“Catching the big one” (03-08-1.929)
Brightly coloured, this cover features one of those “wily” grandfathers Rockwell spoke of on a day of fishing with what we assume to be his grandson. The boy holds the can with the baits along with the catches of his grandfather who is working hard to get a new trophy. The child is looking on in amazement at the scene. His attentive eyes make us think that he does not want to miss a single detail. Who knows, maybe one day he himself will be the protagonist of a similar scene with another child as interested as he is.
“Wet paint” (12-04-1.930)
In this ocassion, we see a young girl, holding her canvas and utensils, escapes from a rural storm. According to the Saturday Evening Post, the inspiration for the illustration was Elisabeth, granddaughter of one of Rockwell’s neighbours. The artist saw in her a talent for painting, but her shyness led her to reject his proposal to pose for the illustration. He did not forget the scene and ten years later, now living in Southern California, it was a cousin of Rockwell’s fiancée who served as a model and lent her image to the girl running around her grandfather’s estate with her painting accessories.
“The gift” (25-06-1.936)
This was one of the most popular covers Rockwell created for SEP. In it we see a little boy looking for a present in the pocket of his grandfather’s jacket, without realizing that it is precisely from the other pocket that a puppy’s head is sticking out. The snow globe in the image was manufactured in 1998.
“Blank canvas” (08-10-1.938)
It is not uncommon to find Rockwell himself in his illustrations, although almost always in a secondary role. In this work, from 1938, we see him facing the blank canvas. The author parodies himself: tall, lanky, his pipe tucked in his back pocket? In the upper corner of the canvas, on the left, a clock reminds him that his time to get the work ready is limited. Rockwell scratches his head, fidgeting, waiting for the ideas to start flowing. Anyone who has ever faced a blank page or canvas can easily put themselves in the author’s shoes. When I’m writing this entry the snow globes, produced in 1991, is out of print.
“Man setting clock” (03-11-1.945)
The great character of this illustration and its snow globe is the Louis Comfort Tiffany-designed clock that Marshall Fields department store installed in its building in downtown Chicago. The company realized that many people chose the Randolp/State Street intersection for their appointments, and decided to provide them with a more concrete landmark by installing a huge bronze clock that has become an icon of the city. The clock had an electric mechanism so that after every power failure in the city, the master clockmaker had to climb 17 feet to reset it. This is the scene recreated by Rockwell. The department store is now owned by the Macy’s chain and the clock is still there. The snow globe incorporates a music box playing the famous song Chicago.
Credits: “Triple self portrait”.
The main image of this entry is a creation by quenieve.es from a figure of the famous Triple Self-Portrait that appeared on the cover of SEP in 1960. Despite its title, the illustration actually shows seven self-portraits: the one being painted on the canvas, five sketches that appear in the upper left-hand corner of the canvas, and the author’s reflection in the mirror, which shows him with his glasses fogged up. Some authors have interpreted this as Rockwell’s desire to establish a distance between his work and the myth of the “artist’s gaze”.
Along with his own image, the work includes four self-portraits of great artists: Dürer, Picasso, van Gogh and Rembrandt. If you are curious, here is a video that recreates this illustration in detail. And here you can also see other creations of different styles that have been inspired by this illustration.
As I write this entry the reference figure, created in 1998 by the Gorham ceramic factory, is for sale on Ebay in different versions . A snow globe was also produced at the time inspired by this illustration, but I honestly don’t think it was up to the task, which is why I decided to use the figure.
If you feel like it …
Here you can find many other curiosities related to snow globes. And you can learn more about Norman Rockwell’s work on the website of one of the museums specialized in the author.
