Norman Rockwell: one of the most iconic American painters of our time. As you may recall, Mr. Rockwell was most famous for his flawless vision of Americana, something he featured weekly on the covers of the Saturday Evening Post!
Recently, rarely-seen photographs that inspired his most famous paintings surfaced, and it's apparent that Rockwell did much more than replicate reality – he added an extra bit of oomph and personality to each picture that gave them a life all their own.
When viewing the photographic inspirations side-by-side with his lovely artwork, it's pretty easy to see where reality ended and artistic license began…and I'd say it's pretty evident that Rockwell was a genius!
Rockwell adds a "special today" sign...and a bit more oomph to the blossoming friendship between boy and cop!
In some cases, Rockwell posed his subjects to get the attitude in the painting just right...
Sometimes he added additional characters to his posed paintings...
See the fellow on the left?
In some special instances...
The additional characters helped tell more of a story. Notice the lovebirds in this one? They aren't in the original photo above!
In rare cases, Rockwell only needed to add one special touch.
...Like the hubby's SHINER in this painting!
While this photo of a barbershop is dark and drab...
Rockwell adds a bit of light and so much life!
This guy is hilarious on his own...
But Rockwell draws us into his world and amps up the drama by making his new misguided tattoo happen in real-time.
Please be sure to SHARE if you find yourself even more in love with Norman Rockwell's incredible artwork than you were before.
Images via Imgur
