Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving Paintings
Gallery, page 2

More Favorites and Rarities

During his stint as America's favorite illustrator, Rockwell painted Thanksgiving scenes many times.

This gallery of Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving paintings will be spread over several pages. Please contact me if you have any suggestions.

Without further ado, here they are. I have attempted to present them in chronological order of the holiday feast.

Thanksgiving - 1919

Norman Rockwell's Thanksgiving (Literary Digest November 22, 1919)

Cooking is finished, now it's time for eating!

My, what a delicious-looking turkey! And with all the fixings, too!

Rockwell certainly captured the essence of the Thanksgiving turkey with this painting.

Not only did he paint the bird just right, but he also painted the wonderful aromas wafting around the bird as it is carried to the table.

We can only imagine the expectant faces of this lady's family. They have been enjoying the cooking aromas all morning. Now their mouths are watering. It is almost time to carve the Thanksgiving turkey.

Not only is the turkey perfectly roasted, but it is accompanied on the platter by a selection of fall vegetables. A full turkey dinner with all the fixings is just a couple of carving slices away.

No doubt, the lady realizes how much her family enjoys the annual feast. No doubt, she also enjoys her family's appreciation.

This was the first of two Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving illustrations to appear on the cover of The Literary Digest.

Freedom From Want - 1943

Norman Rockwell's Freedom From Want (Saturday Evening Post March 6, 1943) Buy From Art.com

Our feast is served.

Rockwell originally intended this painting to be a Thanksgiving painting. Even though Freedom From Want was first published in March 1943. A November publishing would have made more impact as a Thanksgiving painting. There were, of course, bigger concerns, however.

The Four Freedoms paintings were meant to be enjoyed, studied and taken in as a set. The paintings were, after all, created to be a pictorial embodiment of Franklin Rooosevelt's Four Freedoms Speech. Holding Freedom From Want until November would have been counter-productive.

Still, even though it was published at the wrong time of the year, this is the all-time favorite Thanksgiving image by Rockwell.

Many of the characters in the painting were fellow Vermont citizens whe lived in his small town. Rockwell often used his neighbors as models. That must have been some thrill: to look at that canvas and see yourself as Rockwell saw you.

The Wishbone - 1921

Norman Rockwell's The Wishbone (Country Gentleman November 19, 1921)

The feast is over. What to do now?

The above is always the after-dinner conversation at our holiday table, Thanksgiving or Christmas.

These young folks have the right idea.

A little diversion might take their minds off of how stuffed they are. A better diversion might have been something that is not associated with food.

The boy might be better served by letting his sister win the wishbone. Then he can get back to eating that slice of pumpkin pie.

This was the second of two Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving illustrations to appear on the cover of The Country Gentleman.

Ye Glutton - 1923

Norman Rockwell's Ye Glutton (Life November 22, 1923)

How much did you eat?

Going back to the Pilgrim theme, Rockwell represents one of the consequences of overeating: public ridicule.

This man is being punished for over-indulging in the Thanksgiving feast. Apparently there is a fine line, and he crossed it. Once again, we can only guess at the amount he consumed.

Perhaps his village is running dangerously low on supplies. Perhaps he has been warned about his overconsumption in the past.

Or perhaps Ye Glutton just ate the last morsel of something that one of the village leaders wanted for himself. We can play around with all sorts of explanations.

This was the second of two Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving illustrations to appear on the cover of Life magazine.

Continued from page 1 of the Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving Gallery...