Merrie Christmas: Robust Man With Whip by Norman Rockwell

December 7, 1929 Issue of The Saturday Evening Post

Merrie Christmas: Robust Man With Whip, this Norman Rockwell painting, appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post published December 7, 1929.

The location of the original painting is unknown.

This painting was Rockwell's 122nd overall of 322 pictures featured on the cover of The Post. 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 eleventh Rockwell cover in 1929. The Post featured a Rockwell illustration on its cover nine times in 1929.

This painting also appears in three Rockwell commentary books. It appears on page 37 of Norman Rockwell: A Sixty Year Retrospective by Thomas Buechner, as illustration 166 of Norman Rockwell: Artist and Illustrator by Thomas Buechner and on page 116 of Norman Rockwell, A Definitive Catalogue by Laurie Norton Moffatt.

The original cover price for the magazine was just five cents.

Merrie Christmas: Robust Man With Whip

Here is another famous Norman Rockwell Christmas illustration.

This robustman is actually very familiar to Rockwell afficianados. He has appeared in many Rockwell paintings.

This same man, wearing the same outfit, is none other than the coach driver from the Christmas painting, London Stagecoach.

Rockwell used this same man as his model in many paintings of this time period.

In this painting, we can better see the coach driver's clothing. In London Stagecoach, the entire painting was bathed in a reddish hue since the coach was heading into the sunrise.

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Now we can see just how spledid his outfit looks. The hue of blue in his top coat is reminescient of another famous illustrator's signature color.

Rockwell's vintage clothing collection was as legendary as his eye for detail. This painting provides ample evidence of just how broad that collection was. Unfortunately his vintage clothing collection was destroyed along with many now priceless original paintings when his studio burned down in 1943.

But back to the overcoat; 17 buttons are visible. It must take quite a while to button them all, but that would certainly provide quite a barrier to the wind and cold while driving the stagecoach. Also it would make a barrier if the lash accidentally missed its mark.

One of the brass buttons is missing near the bottom. Hopefully that makes no difference to its weather resistance.

The only real indication that this painting is about Christmas, besides the red and green in his scarf, is the holly sprig tucked into the band of his hat. And of course, the caption at the bottom, Merrrie Christmas, is a big clue also.

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