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Norman Rockwell Santa, Extra Good Boys And Girls
December 16, 1939 Issue of The Saturday Evening PostThis Norman Rockwell Santa Claus painting, Extra Good Boys And Girls, appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post published December 16, 1939. This remains a timeless favorite of all Rockwell collectors, no matter what their age Alternate titles for this painting are Santa At The Map and Santa On Ladder With Map. This Norman Rockwell Santa Claus painting was the 191st overall of 322 total published Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post covers. Rockwell's career with the Post spanned 47 years, from his first cover illustration, Boy With Baby Carriage in 1916 to his last, Portrait of John F. Kennedy, in 1963. This was also the seventh of 1939. This painting was Rockwell's seventh picture of Santa Claus featured on the cover of The Post. Rockwell's first Post Christmas cover appeared on December 9, 1916. The original oil on canvas painting, 37 x 29 inches or 94 x 73.5 cm, is housed in a private collection. This Norman Rockwell painting has also been reproduced in four Norman Rockwell books. It has been re-published:
A photograph of the model for Santa is reproduced in Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera by Ron Schick on page 96, as is the painting. taken This Santa Claus picture continued The Post's long tradition of presenting a Norman Rockwell Christmas painting on its cover. In fact, when envisioning Santa Claus, most people see him the way Norman Rockwell painted him. And to think it only cost five cents!
Extra Good Boys And Girls or Santa At The MapGiclee Prints on Archival Paper: This is one of the classic Santa Claus images of all time. Not just by Norman Rockwell, but by any artist. Rockwell doesn't just nail his depiction of Santa in this painting. He doesn't just capture Santa's essence. He defines a scene from Santa's everyday life. Santa does this activity every day of the year. There is no way he could keep up if he did not stay right on top of the situation. Rockwell was always concerned with the details involved in any illustration. In this case, the whole painting is a detail. In this painting, we see Santa plotting his flight path for Christmas Eve. His book is titled "Extra Good Boys & Girls" and apparently contains the names of the best Boys and Girls in the world. Maybe they get their Christmas gifts earlier than the plain old Good Boys and Girls. That book does look smaller than the lists we have seen in previous Norman Rockwell Santa Claus paintings. Extra Good Boys And Girls was only one of 322 Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post covers; Here is the list of Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover illustrations.
Here is the complete list of all Norman Rockwell magazine covers. There is apparently a shortage of Extra good boys and girls. There is a lot of flight time between the marks on tha map. We are left with a question. Where did Santa keep such a huge map? Sitting on a ladder to access it suggests that the map is indeed huge. Maybe he has a Map room or a situation room in his complex at the North Pole. It is apparently quite a responsibilty to be in charge of accounting for who is Good, Extra Good and Bad. I hope my name is in the book in his hand. Merry Christmas!
(Image Only) Copyright © 1939 Saturday Evening Post & Curtis Publishing Company
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Norman Rockwell Quotes:I'll never have enough time to paint all the pictures I'd like to. No man with a conscience can just bat out illustrations. He's got to put all his talent and feeling into them! Some people have been kind enough to call me a fine artist. I've always called myself an illustrator. I'm not sure what the difference is. All I know is that whatever type of work I do, I try to give it my very best. Art has been my life. Right from the beginning, I always strived to capture everything I saw as completely as possible. The secret to so many artists living so long is that every painting is a new adventure. So, you see, they're always looking ahead to something new and exciting. The secret is not to look back. I can take a lot of pats on the back. I love it when I get admiring letters from people. And, of course, I'd love it if the critics would notice me, too. You must first spend some time getting your model to relax. Then you'll get a natural expression. More at BrainyQuote. Christmas Favorites
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