S.T. Haggerty (Steve) is a freelance writer and former staff editor and writer at McGraw-Hill Publications in New York. He is also the author of a new book, Norman Rockwell’s Models: In and Out of the Studio, and lives in Dutchess County, New York. We caught up with him this week to talk about his motivations behind the book, his relationship with Norman Rockwell, as well as his insights into the mind of one of the most celebrated artists of the modern age.
Benedict James: What made you decide to write a book about Norman Rockwell’s models?
S.T. Haggerty: A man from West Arlington named Don Trachte, who organizes Rockwell Model Reunions, asked me if I would be interested in writing a book about the models. He read my Cows in the Fog and Other Poems and Stories and considered it “authentic” Vermont. I spent entire summers in West Arlington and grew up knowing many of the models well, including those in his most iconic paintings. It was natural, fun and inspiring for me to reconnect with the West Arlington Models and interview them.
James: For those who are unfamiliar with Norman Rockwell, fill us in on who he was, when he lived, and what kind of impact he had on Americans.
Haggerty: Norman Rockwell was born in 1894 and died in 1978. As a child, Norman was a frail child, while his brother Jarvis was a high school football team captain. He suffered emotionally because of that, and I think he was compassionate to others as a result. However, as an artist, he was a child prodigy. Rather than a conventional high school, he went to art school. He became the art director for Boy’s Life magazine at 19. By the time he was 22, he had begun publishing covers for the most circulated magazine in the United States, The Saturday Evening Post.
Between 1916 and 1976, Rockwell painted over 4,000 illustrations for magazines, books and advertisements. Many are re-published today, and a multitude of prints are still sold today and used in the media. We hear so often, “This guy I know was right out of a Norman Rockwell painting,” or “It’s a Norman Rockwell town.” During WWII, Rockwell’s Four Freedoms paintings printed on war bonds raised the equivalent of 2 billion dollars today. President Roosevelt spoke to the American people and said if the country didn’t supply arms to Europe, the Nazis could defeat them and us, and we would lose Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear. Not only were his paintings popular, and Freedom of Speech was reprinted 15 million times, he served as a rallying cry to inform the American people.
His 1943 Freedom of Speech defined Thanksgiving as we know it: families and friends gathered around their dinner table for a feast. Thanksgiving only became a national holiday in 1941, so Rockwell’s painting with the turkey became the standard across the country. Rockwell lived through World War I, the great depression, WWII, The Korean War and Viet Nam. His paintings depict soldiers at home, many with subjects celebrating the end of the war. These paintings make for fruitful discussions.
Other paintings, such as Tired Salesgirl, 1947, have a message: salespeople at Christmas are tired, so please be compassionate. Breaking Home Ties, where a boy is leaving for college, sympathizes with people facing “the empty nest.” The Facts of Life reflects that it can be difficult for parents to talk to their children about sex. People can relate to many others. The Problem We All Live With tells the story of hatred held in the hearts of racists.
James: How many people did he work with as models? Who were they? Do you know some of them?
Haggerty: One would have to guesstimate that during his career he used over 10,000 models, since many paintings include more than one. Early in his career, when he worked in New Rochelle, he used primarily professional models, who were out-of-work actors. Although he discovered some regular people around his city.
When he moved to Vermont in 1940, he used residents of his town or nearby ones exclusively. He found professional models to be too “stiff.” The people in Vermont were working people and responded to him with natural expressions. If he told them a sad story, their expressions would reflect that feeling, for example. They did not have “poker faces.”
I knew the model for Freedom of Speech, Carl Hess, well. I worked in a cow barn in West Arlington, and his gas station was about 100 yards down the road. I would visit him to buy sodas. He fixed our inner tubes to float down the river.
A friend named Marjorie Coulter modeled for Freedom from Fear in 1943. I knew her from swimming at the red-covered bridge and from events around town. I knew Doris Wright, the model in curlers for The Gossips. Her daughter was the first girl I held hands with. Jarvis and Tom, Norman’s sons, grew up in West Arlington, and I’ve become friends with them. Jarvis, a blond young man, is at the center of Saying Grace, 1951 which George Lucas bought for $46 million.
I went to the same church as Mary Whalen Leonard, the model for Girl at the Mirror, 1954. Mary’s father was our real estate lawyer as well as the Rockwell’s. One of the owners of the dairy farm on which I worked, Floyd Bentley, appears in Breaking Home Ties, 1954. Don Tracte Sr. bought Breaking Home Ties, for $900 from Norman in 1962. Don Jr. sold it for $16 million at Sotheby’s. I would see Floyd each afternoon at dinner on the farm. I knew quite a few others and/or their families.
James: What was Norman like, and what did his models think of him?
Haggerty: The models were thrilled when he moved to the woods of Vermont. They enjoyed modeling and being featured in popular national magazines. The kids loved getting paid for modeling. Norman and his wife Mary encouraged some of the children to go to college. Since Norman participated in many clubs and activities in a tiny village, he made good friends with some of the models and was friendly with most of them. Norman got at least a hundred models on either side of his home on the Village Green. Some worked in his home. They built his studio. They carried his paintings to the magazine in Philadelphia. They provided clothing for models and props. Others he knew from his children’s school. He met many models at square dances. He took a personal interest with many and they developed close personal relationships. Around town and in the studio, he was friendly and put people at ease. He was also generous.
Norman, I guess you could say, was a workaholic, but his studio was just behind his house, so he saw family members a lot. He had meals with them and participated in some activities. However, his mind was often so much on his work, that he would be preoccupied. His children remember him as a kind man, who encouraged them in their activities and school. He had a wonderful sense of humor.
James: Why do you think he was such a successful painter and American icon?
Haggerty: There are a number of reasons. First, he told a story with clues, and after a moment of analyzing, people figure the painting out and say, “ah ha.” He was able to get natural expressions because he made his models feel comfortable. His son Thomas told me the war years energized his father and made them his best, such as the Four Freedoms. Also, he painted American History at a time most other artists had gravitated towards modern art. His paintings tell stories of American History. That is one of the things that definitely distinguishes him from other artists.
James: What are some of your favorite Norman Rockwell paintings and why?
Haggerty: One of my favorites is Marbles Champion, 1943. I love the spirit of the girl beating the boys at marbles. I also love the colors, and the arrangement of the children. Stephen Spielberg said it’s a great example of cinematography. Plus, my friend Jarvis Rockwell is the boy in the red whoope hat. My friend Ruth McLenithan Skellie played the girl.
Freedom from Fear. Even though text accompanied it in the magazine, I still consider it fine art. It gives me a deep sentimental feeling, parents tucking their children in bed while London is being reduced to rubble by Nazi bombers. Plus, my friend Marjorie Squiers Coulter is the girl lying in bed. The mother, Dorothy Lawrence, is a friend’s real-life mother.
Saying Grace. I love the spirit of the painting and the elderly woman, May Walker, praying earnestly. I’m friends with the boy, her “grandson,” and the blond young man Jarvis Rockwell.
Home on Leave. This one exudes a wonderful feeling of calm, relaxation and a beautiful day. The soldier lying in the hammock is at peace. The trees, light and shadows remind me of sitting in our backyard with my father under a shade tree on a gorgeous day.
James: Do you think there is an artist today that captures our current era the way that Norman captured his?
Haggerty: The answer is no. I’ve looked around and read about it. I can’t find any contemporary artists like Rockwell. I’ve read about it, and no one else can either. However, during Rockwell’s early career, he had similarities with other illustrators who worked for the same publications. He learned things from them, and they from him.
James: What are Norman’s most popular paintings and why?
Haggerty: The Four Freedoms, which are literally priceless because they are masterpieces and represent a critical part of American History. Breaking Home Ties is very popular as is Saying Grace. Shuffleton’s Barber Shop, older men making music at the back of a barbershop, is a beloved one. Norman did one in Stockbridge, Mass, called The Runaway, a boy sitting at a diner whose appearance says he’s running away from home, who sits next to a police officer. His painting of Ruby Bridges, the Problem We all Live With, is iconic because it illustrates the Civil Rights, which allowed Blacks to go to White schools.
James: What did Rockwell’s painting sell for back in the 40s and 50s, and what do they go for today?
Haggerty: In the forties and fifties, Norman gave many of his paintings away. If someone pestered him for one, he might say, “Go down to the Green Mountain diner and tell Frankie Hall (The owner) to give you one.” He gave away many others or sold them for very little. In the 1940s, he was dumbfounded when April Fools sold for $900. By 1996, The Babysitter was appraised for $300,000. A lot of others would have been in that price range then.
George Lucas, the filmmaker, is Rockwell’s biggest fan. He bought Saying Grace for $46 million; Shuffleton’s Barbershop for a reported $30 million, and Breaking Home Ties for $16 million. Today, many of them that come up for sale sell in the $2 to $10 million range; however, there are some I would imagine that would sell for a lot more. The Four Freedoms, as I said, are “priceless.” The Rockwell Museum owns them. I wonder if a private owner held them if they would sell for $500 million?
James: Where can we get a copy of your book, Norman Rockwell’s Models In and Out of the Studio?
Haggerty: People can buy it at their local bookstore. If it’s not in stock, the store can order it through the National Book Network. It is also online at many sites, like Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
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 is the author of Norman Rockwell’s Models: In and Out of the Studio, and lives in Dutchess County, New York.
