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Norman Rockwell
Trials, Tribulation, and Twain, 1960
Chapter heading for My Adventures as an Illustrator
Shortly after his marriage to Mary, Rockwell began having trouble with his work. He tried making changes, experimenting with new techniques, using new brushes, applying the principles of dynamic symmetry, but nothing seemed to help. He was dissatisfied with everything he did and lost all self-confidence. "I painted one cover four times, using a different model each time, and then burned the canvases and discarded the idea entirely. What I wanted kept eluding me." After seeing a play about a man who escaped to Europe in hopes of solving his problems, Rockwell decided to do the same. He and Mary, and their infant son Jarvis, sailed for Paris in 1932. They stayed for eight months but the same dissatisfaction with his work haunted him across the Atlantic and continued upon his return. No magic pill cured his painter's block; Rockwell persevered and eventually worked his way out of his depression. In 1935 Rockwell was asked to illustrate Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. He was delighted and enthused; he hadn't illustrated a book in 16 years and none of them had been classics. His trip to Hannibal, Missouri to visit the world described by Samuel Clemens is legendary as an example of Rockwell's insistence on authenticity. Rockwell actually bought the clothes people were wearing to be sure he had accurate costumes. |