8 Things You Didn't Know About Norman Rockwell

1. When he was just five years old, other boys played with store-bought ships to have naval battles. Since he couldn't afford them, Norman cut some of his own out of cardboard and painted them. They became so popular, other boys asked him to make some for them.

2. Norman Rockwell became the editor of Boy's Life at the age of 19.

3. Rockwell attempted to enlist in the U.S. Navy during WWI; however, he was underweight and was refused entry on his first try. After a night of eating as much as he coud, Rockwell returned to the recruiters and was appointed as a military artist.

4. In his earlier work, Rockwell worked with live models. When he began to use a camera to snap pictures of the models, he began to work in wilder, more exaggerated poses -- ones that would have been hard for a live model to hold for hours.

5.  Over his 47-year career, Norman Rockwell published a total of 322 original covers for The Saturday Evening Post.

6.  Much of the film, Forrest Gump contains visual aesthetic is said to be inspired by Rockwell's art.

This shot includes a recreation of Rockwell's Girl with Black

Eye, featuring Forrest instead of a girl. 

The iconic photo of Forrest sitting on his park bench
creates continuity in this Rockwell-esque quality.

7.  Norman Rockwell's  Breaking Home Ties sold for a whopping $15.4 million at Sotheby's in 2006.

Breaking Home Ties

8. Rockwell's mastery of composition is inspiring. He arranges his paintings wonderfully. For example, in the painting from Tom Sawyer, note how well he frames Tom with the bending figure around him. Adding to the woman the dark upper part of the painting and even the poised cat, Rockwell makes the whole painting seem to be pressing down in on him. Notice also how he throws a bowl on the floor to break up the foreground.