Boy Chasing Dog With Pants by Norman Rockwell

August 9, 1919 Issue of The Saturday Evening Post

Boy Chasing Dog With Pants, this Norman Rockwell painting, appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post published August 9, 1919.

An alternate title for this painting is Stop, Thief.

This painting was Rockwell's twenty-first overall picture featured on the cover of The Post and the seventh Rockwell cover in 1919. The Post featured a Rockwell illustration on its cover eleven times in 1919.

The original oil on canvas painting, 27 x 24 inches or 68.5 x 61 cm, is part of the collection of Fenn Galleries.

This painting has been reproduced in two Rockwell commentary books, as illustration 117 of Norman Rockwell: Artist and Illustrator by Thomas Buechner and on page 80 of Norman Rockwell, A Definitive Catalogue by Laurie Norton Moffatt.

I have seen copies of the original published cover in pristine condition sell for big bucks on eBay. And it only cost a nickel when it was newly purchased.

Boy Chasing Dog With Pants

Here we have another humorous childhood situation from the summer of 1919.

In this painting, Norman Rockwell lets us laugh at the misfortune of this boy.

His hair looks wet. Maybe he has been swimming in the pond. Very few of the boys in Rockwell's painting wore bathing suits other what they were born in. We can safely assume that he was swimming au naturel.

So the prelude to this scene is that the boy was putting his clothes back on when this dog stole his pants. Now his most pressing job is to catch his pants without losing his drawers.

Several questions come to mind.

Is the dog his pet? Why did the dog grab his pants and not any other piece of clothing? What will happen to the dog if he manages to catches it?

The most pressing question, however, is why is he in such a hurry? Is he going to meet a little girl after he gets his pants back on?

No matter what else, I'm glad he has a good hold on those red and white striped drawers.

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