Norman Rockwell is famed for his illustrative paintings that capture everyday American life in the twentieth century. Rockwell began studying art during his freshman year of high school. He quit school when he was fifteen to attend the National Academy of Design. Eventually, he enrolled in the Art Students League. Rockwell was interested in accurately capturing the minutest detail of his subjects and their settings. This technique allowed him to tell their stories and reveal their personalities via their facial expressions and body language.

In 1913, Rockwell was hired as contributing art director of Boy's Life magazine. However, it was not until 1916, when he began his association with the Saturday Evening Post (see entry under 1900s—Print Culture in volume 1), that he arrived as an artist. The Saturday Evening Post was then a popular mass-market magazine. For the next forty-seven years, Rockwell was the Post's...