Little Boy Writing Letter by Norman Rockwell

January 17, 1920 Issue of The Saturday Evening Post

Little Boy Writing Letter, this Norman Rockwell painting, appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post published January 17, 1920...
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An alternate title for this painting is Dear Sweetheart.

This painting was Rockwell's twenty-sixth overall picture featured on the cover of The Post and the first Rockwell cover in 1920. The Post featured a Rockwell illustration on its cover eleven times in 1920.

Little Boy Writing Letter

In this painting, Norman Rockwell shows us that love, especially young love, is not afraid or or a stranger to labor.

Anything worth having is worth striving for.

This boy is certainly striving. Just look at the concentration written across his face. Along with the ink spots everywhere!

His desk is an old barrel. His quill appears to be a sharpened stick. He is dipping into an ink well. Not exactly conducive to penmanship.

He has made four attempts to put his feelings on paper so far. We see two crumpled up on the ground. The message on one is visible to us:

dear Sweethart
i luv you mor
and mor every day

That page has been ruined by s big ink spill down its center.

The bottom of another page is visible, hanging off the edge of the barrel:

X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X
kissus

That one, also, has been ruined by ink spots.

His shirt, face and hands all have ink spots. One of the spots on his face actually looks as if he is sweating ink! So it will almost take a miracle to produce one without ink spots.

And yet still he perseveres.

His dog wonders what all the fuss is about. She just wants some of her boy's attention...
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