About this item
Highlights
- Norman Rockwell's Models: In and out of the Studio is the first book to detail the lives of Norman Rockwell's rural Vermont models and their experiences posing in his studio.
- About the Author: S.T. Haggerty is a longtime writer of fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
- 312 Pages
- Art, American
Description
About the Book
Norman Rockwell's Models: In and out of the Studio is the first book to detail the lives of Norman Rockwell's rural Vermont models and their experiences posing in his studio. The author grew up in West Arlington with the models in the same setting and his experiences make Rock...Book Synopsis
Norman Rockwell's Models: In and out of the Studio is the first book to detail the lives of Norman Rockwell's rural Vermont models and their experiences posing in his studio. The author grew up in West Arlington with the models in the same setting and his experiences make Rockwell and his models' stories come alive.
Review Quotes
"As one who posed for Norman Rockwell, I was delighted to read the wonderful recollections and stories of his models. You will see the true dedication S.T. Haggerty has shown to honor the true, timeless work of Norman Rockwell."
"Norman Rockwell's Models captures intimate details of the artist's relationships with his models and the environment in which he created his most powerful and beloved images. The first-hand anecdotes from his children, neighbors, friends, and colleagues shed a new light on his career. A must read for anyone who is a fan of Norman Rockwell and illustration art."
"Steve Haggerty's unique book tells riveting stories of Norman Rockwell's Arlington, Vermont models."
"You've got to read these stories!"
Haggerty weaves together a portrait of Rockwell, but more importantly gives life to his models -- the shopgirl exhausted by the Christmas rush, a woman and boy praying over the dinner, a girl with a black eye outside the principal's office, a marine returning home from war and the family that greets him. Haggerty not only introduces you to the models, but also allows you to get to know them, as individuals beyond the Rockwellian avatars that America loves so dearly.
Haggerty's work is in itself a work of art. He has, much like Rockwell, paid great attention to detail. For fans of Rockwell's illustrations and even for those who simply wish to understand an important aspect of 20th-century America, Norman Rockwell's Models: In and Out of the Studio is an important work. Furthermore, it is a very fine piece of writing.
Norman Rockwell's Models is the first to tell the stories of Norman Rockwell's models and their time in his studio and a 'must' for the legions of Norman Rockwell fans.
Poet and former editor Haggerty dives deep into the work of Norman Rockwell in this illuminating survey, his debut. Uncovering "the backstories of the friends and neighbors who posed for Rockwell in the quaint, rural village of West Arlington, Vermont," Haggerty, who spent summers in West Arlington from the age of three, uses his familiarity with the town and its locals to limn the lives of "the dairy farmers, carpenters, country doctors, soldiers, mechanics, and spirited children" who modeled as the subjects of some of Rockwell's greatest hits. Among them are Carl Hess, the owner of the gas station Rockwell frequented, who posed in 1943 for Freedom of Speech; Ruthie McLenithan, who modeled as a girl playing marbles in Marbles Champion; and Rockwell's housekeeper Marie Briggs, who was depicted in We the Peoples, a work currently displayed in the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Haggerty explores the dynamic exchange between artist and sitter and sheds light on the mechanics that created Rockwell's sentimental, romanticized work (attuned to fine details, Rockwell dictated every aspect of the scenes he painted, sometimes by "coaxing exact expressions from his carefully selected models"). This peek into the workshop of an icon of Americana will delight Rockwell's fans.
This is a wonderful project.
About the Author
S.T. Haggerty is a longtime writer of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. He is known for his intriguing, heartfelt, and lively storytelling. He received his B.S. from Southern Vermont College, and M.A. in Journalism from the University of South Carolina. He lives in Pawling, New York.
