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Home > Resources > "My Adventures as an Illustrator," by Norman Rockwell

“My Adventures as an Illustrator,” by Norman Rockwell

My Adventures as an Illustrator is an intimate look into the life and career of one of America's greatest artists. Rockwell’s son Tom, a writer, was asked to help with the book, and recalls working with his father in the foreword found in later editions: “He started by talking into a dictaphone all by himself in the kitchen after supper; even a book about his life and work couldn’t be allowed to interfere with his work. But he wasn’t comfortable with this arrangement, either… so finally we gave up the dictaphone and I just took notes while he talked. When I thought we had accumulated enough material, I would organize and write it up and then we would read and correct it, often adding sentences or remembering other things to put in. A lot of his memories he had already organized into stories, often funny, since he liked to be entertaining and kid himself.”

The artist’s original dictaphone recordings are in the collection of the Norman Rockwell Museum.

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Genres
  • Advertising
    • Corporate
    • Political and Public Service
    • Product
    • Self-Promotion
  • Books
    • Children’s Books
    • Cover Art
    • Interior Illustration
  • Cartooning
    • Advertising
    • Caricature
    • Political and Editorial
    • Sports
    • Spot
  • Comics
    • Comic Books
      • Manga
    • Comic Strips
  • Decorative & Applied Illustration
    • Info Graphics
    • Murals
    • Portraiture
  • Fantasy
    • Adventure
    • Fairy Tales and Fables
    • Mythology
  • Fashion
    • Advertising
    • Design
  • Graphic Novels
    • Fiction
    • Non-Fiction
    • Visual Memoir and Autobiography
  • Internet Illustration
    • Web Comics
    • Website Illustration
  • Magazine
    • Cover Art
    • Story Illustration
  • Moving Image
    • Animation
    • Concept Art
    • Storyboard
    • Video Game Design
  • Newspaper
  • Non-Commissioned Work
  • Poster
    • Event (Promotional)
    • Film
    • Political
    • Propaganda
    • Travel
  • Product Illustration
    • Album/CD
    • Calendars
    • DVD/VHS/Videogame
    • Greeting Cards
    • Packaging
    • Paper Dolls
    • Postage Stamps
  • Pulp Illustration
    • Pinup Art
    • Pulp Magazines
  • Science Fiction
    • Creatures
    • Outer Space
    • Technology
  • Technical
    • Anatomy
    • Archaeological
    • Architecture
    • Courtroom Drawings
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Global Perspectives
  • North America
  • Europe
  • Asia
Resources
  • Artist Interviews
  • Blogs
  • Books
  • Catalogs
  • Collections
  • Illustration Schools
  • Professional Organizations
Related Artists
  • Howard Pyle Howard Pyle
  • J.C. Leyendecker J.C. Leyendecker
  • N.C. Wyeth N.C. Wyeth
  • Norman Rockwell Norman Rockwell
  • Fred Ludekens Fred Ludekens
  • George B. Bridgman George B. Bridgman
Related Time Periods
  • Late 19th Century Late 19th Century
  • The Decade 1900-1910 The Decade 1900-1910
  • The Decade 1910-1920 The Decade 1910-1920
  • The Decade 1920-1930 The Decade 1920-1930
  • The Decade 1930-1940 The Decade 1930-1940
  • The Decade 1940-1950 The Decade 1940-1950
  • The Decade 1950-1960 The Decade 1950-1960
  • The Decade 1960-1970 The Decade 1960-1970

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Art Works. National Endowment for the Arts. arts.gov

This project is supported in part by an award
from the National Endowment for the Arts.

"The great band of illustrators have shown us to ourselves and I am proud to be among their company."
- Norman Rockwell

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