Biography
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Americans were extremely receptive to Rockwell’s "Saturday Evening Post" covers. In fact, Rockwell went on to create 321 covers for the Post, each portraying typical American life and values. His covers were so successful that when his art appeared on the cover, 50,000 – 75,000 additional copies of the Saturday Evening Post sold at newsstands. "The Saturday Evening Post" covers eventually became his greatest legacy. For an artist in the first half of the 20th century, Rockwell did extremely well. By the onset of World War I, he was making $40,000 per year. Remarkably his salary never went below that point, even during the Great Depression.

The 1930s proved to be an amazing decade for Rockwell. In 1930 he married Mary Barstow. The couple moved to Arlington, Vermont and had three sons together: Jarvis, Thomas and Peter. In the mid-1930s Rockwell was approached to illustrate new editions of the Mark Twain classics “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “Tom Sawyer.” Always taking his work to the next level, Rockwell traveled to Hannibal, Missouri, the setting for most of Twain’s legendary novels, to depict more realistic illustrations for Twain’s fictional adventures. While there he created sketches of the city and brought home authentic regional costumes for models to wear while he painted his illustrations.

Through the years, Rockwell’s renditions of Americana appeared all over the world. During World War II he painted his widely-loved series the “Four Freedoms” as his personal contribution to the war effort. The patriotic paintings symbolized the war aims President Roosevelt set forth. The “Four Freedoms” were reproduced in four consecutive issues of “The Saturday Evening Post” alongside essays by contemporary American writers. “Freedom of Speech,” “Freedom to Worship,” “Freedom from Want” and “Freedom from Fear” were so successful that the works toured in an exhibition that raised $139.9 million for the war effort through the sales of war bonds.

In 1953 the Rockwell family relocated to Stockbridge, Massachusetts where Mary was treated at the Austen Riggs Center for her declining health. Six years after the move, Mary died unexpectedly. In 1960 Rockwell, with the help of his son Thomas, published his autobiography “My Adventures as an Illustrator.” The book proved to be a success, with excerpts carried in eight consecutive “Saturday Evening Post” issues. In 1961 Rockwell married Mary L. “Molly” Punderson and continued to live in Stockbridge and create his now nostalgic masterpieces.

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