Existing comment:
Norman Rockwell
First Signs of Spring, 1947
Painting for The Saturday Evening Post cover, March 22, 1947
Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post covers were generally executed months in advance of their publication dates. For the crocuses in First Signs of Spring, the artist wanted real flowers for his models, but since work on the illustration was completed in winter's coldest months, finding live crocuses proved to be a difficult undertaking. Numerous calls were placed to New England greenhouses, but no local florist stocked crocuses in winter. Rockwell eventually procured a New York City shopkeeper who specialized in out-of-season flowers, and the blooms were delivered to his Vermont home for a fee of fifteen dollars and fifty cents. |