Resources

Want to find out more?
The resources listed here expand the themes of the current exhibition at the DIA, American Chonicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell.

The exhibition plays off the idea that most of Rockwell's pictures are straightforward and comfortable. They're about an idyllic America. But they also allow us to explore deeper meanings and bigger questions about how Rockwell's imagery relates to our experiences of America.

Many of these resources relate directly to themes and images in the exhibition, while others offer new ways to think about Rockwell's work.

Rockwell's Life and Work as an Illustrator

Rockwell's illustrations have helped shape a vision of American life. Explore these resources to learn more about the art of illustration and Rockwell's nearly sixty-year career.

For adults
Norman Rockwell, My Adventures as an Illustrator, a 1960 autobiography as told to Tom Rockwell

A description of Rockwell's early struggles to become an artist, his rising career, periods of self-doubt, and how he overcame them

American Splendor, a 2003 film directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (101 min.)

A film that traces the life of comic book writer/illustrator Harvey Pekar

Biography: Norman Rockwell, a 2006 television special created by A&E

A documentary about Rockwell's extensive body of work and the career that spanned six decades

Norman Rockwell Museum: http://www.nrm.org

The Web site of the Norman Rockwell Museum, which houses the world's largest collection of original Rockwell art

On the Media, "Drawing the Line":
http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2007/03/30/06

A radio interview (transcript included) with David Wallis, who wrote a book about illustrations that never went to print, including references to work Rockwell did for Look magazine

For kids
Creative Kids: Artistic Drawing, a book by Kat Rakel Ferguson

A book with fun, educational techniques for learning how to draw (ages 9-12)

How to Draw It: http://www.howtodrawit.com

A Web site with step-by-step instructions on how to draw animals (ages 8-12)

For everyone
Norman Rockwell: Storyteller with a Brush, a book by Beverly Gherman

A story following the artist's life from his humble beginnings to his success as an artist and, finally, to his death in 1978

Curtis Publishing: http://www.curtispublishing.com

Web site of the company that created The Saturday Evening Post, with illustrations of every Post cover, including those by Norman Rockwell

Depictions of Family

Rockwell's visual definition of family tends to consist of white, middle class parents, children, and grandparents. Some of these resources parallel Rockwell's idealized families, while others touch upon family experiences unseen in Rockwell depictions.

For adults
Portland Library: http://www.portlandlibrary.com/research/families.htm

A Web site listing novels about families from many cultures around the world

The Visitor, a 2007 film directed by Tom McCarthy (104 min.)

A story about the family that forms after a professor discovers a pair of illegal immigrants living in his seldom-used New York apartment

Soul Food, a 1997 film directed by George Tillman, Jr. (114 min.)

A comedy-drama about one extended family's conflicts and resolutions during their traditional Sunday dinners as seen through the eyes of a young boy

This American Life, "Nobody's Family is Going to Change": http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1237

A downloadable radio program, hosted by Ira Glass, of three stories that consider the question: does anyone's family ever change?

StoryCorps: http://www.storycorps.net/listen/

A Web site for a program dedicated to preserving oral histories. Listen to conversations between family members and friends about their experiences in America

For kids
Meet Me in St. Louis, a 1944 film directed by Vincente Minnelli (113 min.)

A movie about the trials and tribulations of the Smith family when the father decides to leave New York City to thwart his daughter's romance with the boy next door (ages 6 and up)

In His Father's Shoes, a 1997 film directed by Vic Sarin (105 min.)

A movie about a teenage boy who tries on a pair of his late father's shoes and is whisked backward in time to learn about his father's experiences (ages 9-12)

Children's Books about Family Relationships and Experiences: http://journal.naeyc.org/btj/200505/07Birckmayer.pdf

A downloadable file listing books about a variety of family experiences and the emotions and situations that affect the lives of young children (all ages)

For everyone
DIA-Who's Your Family flickr gallery: http://www.flickr.com/groups/thediaeveningpost

Create an image of your family and upload it to the DIA Flickr gallery

PBS-Make a Family Tree: http://www.pbs.org/americanfamily/tree/

An online activity that allows you to create your own family tree and send it to family members so they can add their own stories

Childhood and Innocence

Some of Rockwell's images of childhood brim with happy innocence. Others explore the uneasy transitions into adulthood. Discover more about the various sides of childhood.

For adults
Ghost World, a 1994 film by Terry Zwigoff

A movie about two girls who are leaving their adolescence behind to navigate the unsettling challenges of finding new ways to fit in an adult world

On the Media, "Not so Innocent": http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2007/10/05/02

A radio interview with Johns Hopkins Professor Richard Halpern, who relates Rockwell's paintings to contemporary myths of America as always innocent

This American Life, "Home Movies":
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1002

A downloadable radio program with five stories about the differences between what family home videos show and what they really tell us

This American Life, "Return to Childhood 2008": http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1233

A downloadable radio program with stories about four adults of different ages who reminisce about their childhoods and sometimes discover things they wished they'd left alone

For kids
Akeelah and the Bee, a 2006 film directed by Doug Atchison (112 min.)

A movie about a girl who grows to value her intelligence as she trains to compete in the National Spelling Bee, which is dominated by children from wealthy families and privileged backgrounds (ages 9-12)

My Girl, a 1991 film directed by Howard Zieff (102 min.)

A comedy-drama about the friendship between a young girl in a small Pennsylvania town and a local boy and her emotional awakening when her widower father begins falling in love (ages 10-14)

Boys' Life Magazine: www.boyslife.org

This Web site offers tips about the outdoors, projects, and online games suitable for all children (ages 9-12)

For everyone
Heidi, a 1937 film directed by Allan Dwan (88 min.)

A movie about an orphaned girl and the bonds she develops with her grandfather

Heroism

Rockwell depicted the heroism of everyday Americans during World War II and the Civil Rights movement. Find out more about both of these periods.

During and after World War II

For adults
The War, a 2007 television documentary film directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick (900 min.)

A documentary that brings the history of World War II to life through personal accounts from four seemingly typical American towns

The Best Years of Our Lives, a 1946 film directed by William Wyler (172 min.)

Academy Award-winning film drama that follows the stories of three soldiers returning home to small town America after World War II

The National Archives-Powers of Persuasion
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_intro.html

An online exhibition of American poster art from World War II, including Rockwell's Four Freedoms

This American Life, "Why we Fight": http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=955

A 2002 program featuring stories about why the United States should or should not go to war in Iraq

American Rhetoric Top 100 Speeches, "Franklin Delano Roosevelt": www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrthefourfreedoms.htm

An audio file of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 "Four Freedoms" speech, which inspired Rockwell to paint his Four Freedoms series of war bond posters

Smithsonian Folkways-That's Why We're Marching: World War II and the American Folksong Movement:
http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=2379

A collection of folk songs by various artists used to rally support during World War II. Recordings available for purchase as CDs or downloads

For kids
World War II for Kids: A History with 21 Activities, a book by Richard Panchyk

A book about World War II, which includes personal perspectives from wartime letters, interviews with former soldiers, ordinary citizens, and Holocaust survivors (ages 9-12)

Peace Corps-Peace Corps Challenge (Game): http://www.peacecorps.gov/kids/

An online game that challenges you to help the villagers of a fictional town in Africa solve critical problems to their health and well being (ages 9-12)

For everyone
YouTube-Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v22ONRKqDA

The director of the Norman Rockwell Museum discusses the visual aspects and significance of Rockwell's Four Freedoms paintings

During the Civil Rights Movement

For adults

Murder in Mississippi, a 1990 television film directed by Roger Young (97 min.)

A television film dramatizing the last weeks before the disappearance and murder of civil rights activists Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney

Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years (1954-1965), a 1987 miniseries directed by Henry Hampton (360 min.)

A television miniseries that traces the history of the American civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s

This American Life, "Take a Negro Home": http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=808

A downloadable radio program with stories about two people who try to cross the color line

Smithsonian Folkways-We Shall Overcome: Documentary of the March on Washington:
http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=1072

A compilation of speeches and songs, including those by Martin Luther King, President John F. Kennedy, Walter Reuther, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan, from the 1963 March on Washington. Recordings available for purchase as CDs or downloads

For kids
Through My Eyes, a book by Ruby Bridges

The autobiography of Ruby Bridges who, as a six-year-old, became the first black student at the all-white William Frantz Public School in New Orleans (ages 9-12)

PBS, "Stand Up for Your Rights": http://pbskids.org/wayback/civilrights/index.html

A Web site with information and interactive activities about struggles for religious freedom, a woman's right to vote, and school desegregation (ages 9-12)

The Civil Rights Movement for Kids: A History with 21 Activities, a book by Marcy C. Turck

A book tracing some of the most important events in the American Civil Rights movement, with activities that make the historic struggles for equality accessible to young people (ages 9-12)

For everyone
The National Civil Rights Museum: www.civilrightsmuseum.org

The Web site of the National Civil Rights Museum, which provides information on key historical figures and events of the American Civil Rights movement

The Long Walk Home, a 1990 film directed by Richard Pearce (97 min.)

A film about a Southern socialite enlightened by the struggles of her African American housekeeper who raises her family amid increasing turmoil, prejudice, and violence

Smithsonian Folkways-Human Rights: A Documentary on the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights: http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=1039

A downloadable spoken-word compilation, including an interview of Eleanor Roosevelt about the adoption of the Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations. Recordings available for purchase as CDs or downloads

The Times

Rockwell both influenced and was influenced by the times in which he worked. Explore these resources to learn more about his time period.

For adults
Pleasantville, a 1998 film directed by Gary Ross (124 min.)

A pair of 1990s teenagers are transported by their television set to the black-and-white world of a cheerful 1950s sitcom and the repressed desires and general discontent that surface

Mad Men, an AMC television series

A television drama about a Madison Avenue advertising executive that reveals the social mores of 1960s America

A Prairie Home Companion: http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/

A radio variety show featuring Garrison Keillor set in Lake Wobegon, a fictional town in Minnesota

The Life and Times of a Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir, a book by Bill Bryson

A memoir in which Bill Bryson tells the life of his family in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality

This American Life, "Welcome to America": http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=931

A downloadable radio program about people who've moved to this country and the things they see and hear that those born here don't necessarily notice

StoryCorps, "Historias": http://www.storycorps.net/listen/stories/category/historias

An oral history archive that lets you listen to online to conversations between friends and family members about their experiences in America

For kids
Library of Congress-America's Library Kids: http://www.americaslibrary.kids.us/

An interactive Web site that highlights major events in American history (ages 9-12)

Smithsonian Folkways-American Folk, Game and Activity Songs: http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=2684

A compilation of American folk songs performed by Pete Seeger. Recordings available for purchase as CDs or downloads

A History of Us, an eleven-book series by Joy Hakim

A series of books that weave together narratives which bring American history to life (ages 9-12)

For everyone
Smithsonian Folkways-African-American Folk Rhythms: http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=2062

Ella Jenkins and the Goodwill Spiritual Choir perform spirituals, work songs, children's rhymes, and other musical forms to present a cross-section of African American experiences. Recordings available for purchase as CDs or downloads