Off to School by Norman Rockwell

September 4, 1920 Issue of The Literary Digest

Off to School, this Norman Rockwell painting, appeared on the cover of The Literary Digest published September 4, 1920.

The alternate title for this work is Boy and Girl on Horse.

This illustration was Rockwell's eighteenth picture featured on the cover of The Literary Digest.

The Digest featured Rockwell artwork on the cover nine times total in 1920 alone.

Starting in 1918 with the first cover, Boy Showing Off Badges to the last, The Night Before Christmas in 1923, The Literary Digest featured Rockwell artwork on its cover a total of forty-seven times.

This painting also appears in three Rockwell commentary books. It appears:

• on page 24 of The Norman Rockwell Album,
• as illustration 113 of Norman Rockwell: A Sixty Year Retrospective by Thomas Buechner and
• on page 53 of Norman Rockwell, A Definitive Catalogue by Laurie Norton Moffatt.

The painting was also reproduced in the 1926 publication, New Rochelle The City of the Hugenots by the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce.

The original oil on canvas painting, 28 x 23 inches or 71 x 58.5 cm, is part of a private collection.

Off to School

Back to school at the end of summer...

In Boy and Girl on Horse, a boy and a girl ride horseback down a dirt road beside a stone wall. Are they brother and sister or are they sweethearts?

The books bound with a belt indicate that the pair is headed to school. The girl holds their lunch on her arm in a basket.

They are riding the horse without the benefit of a saddle. The girl is riding sidesaddle, as would be proper. The boy is holding on to his hat, indicating that they are riding with some speed.

In the background is the house they are leaving. To the right is a stone wall. This painting was a fore taste of what Norman Rockwell would later do with background illustrations.

Little Boy Writing Letter	The Novice Skater	The Departing Maid
Boy With Dog in Picnic Basket	Boy Sending Dog Home	Trio in Early Motorcar
Cave of the Winds	Man and Woman Seated Back to Back	Grandfather Frightened by Jack-O-Lantern
Santa and Expense Book

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