Before there was Photoshop, there was Norman Rockwell…

I went to the Brooklyn Museum this “28 degrees but feels like 18” afternoon to see the Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera exhibit. I was fascinated by the meticulous detail he put into each painting, the extensive thought process involved and the actual physical process in itself. I have seen so many prints of the Saturday Evening Post growing up, but didn’t know that each cover was so carefully designed, modeled, photographed, then finally painted and often painted over again. His ability to imagine a storyline for each painting and then carefully create it, is inspiring. I had no idea about his pain-staking process for each work and it was a great exhibit to see. He used real-life models, coaching them to hold poses and make certain facial expressions, then photographed them separately and repeatedly, only to splice up the photos to use to paint his remarkable pieces.The intricate path from camera shutter to paintbrush is awe-inspiring.

There were some real stand-out pieces. I loved “Maternity Family Waiting Room”  (1946). Perhaps it is in being in my Ob/Gyn rotation, but his depiction of the fathers in the waiting room was interesting, realistic and hilarious. I can only imagine him coaching his models for the frightened novice, distraught executive, magazine shredder.

I also liked “Salesman in Swimming Hole” (1945). It was amazing to see how in the single painting, he traces the course of action over a period of time. Looking at the painting, you can tell the salesman got out of his car, laid out a newspaper, placed his glasses on the paper, removed his shoes, then jumped in. It’s a story and process in just one scene.

I also really enjoyed “Day in the Life of a Little Girl” (1952), a painting of 15 separate scenes that were carefully staged in photographs. It must have been so fun coaching children to pretend to swim or perform certain facial expressions.

Other great pieces captured history in the making as well as provided social commentary on American politics. “The Problem We All Live With” (1964) was a monumental piece.

This was a wonderful exhibit and I definitely recommend a visit! I’m glad to have checked off one more thing off my NY bucket list on one of my few days off!