The young couple on prom night, the girl at the mirror, the returning war hero - these iconic Norman Rockwell paintings have become part of the fabric of American popular culture. What most people do not realize, however, is that virtually everything and everyone that Rockwell painted from the 1930's onward was first elaborately staged for the camera.

Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera is the first book to explore, in depth, the archive of more than 18,000 black-and-white photographs housed at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Rarely seen in public, these images provide remarkable insight into the imagination and working process on one of the twentieth century's most renowned artists. Rockwell's most famous works, as well as many important, lesser-known paintings, are presented here alongside the startlingly well realized study photographs from which he painted. The juxtaposition reveals an eye for composition and detail that was equally at home in two mediums.

This groundbreaking book is the result of original research by author and historian Ron Schick, whose insightful narrative is enriched with comments from surviving Rockwell models, associates, and family members. Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera forever alters our understanding of the working methods of America's best-known illustrator, while also unveiling a newfound treasure of Norman Rockwell images in an unexpected form.

Reviews

What a wonderful book this is --and what a rare behind-the-scenes look at the artistic process it provides. So many of the moments we see as impossibly idealized versions of us are in fact us. Rockwell's genius improves with this 'backstage' glance. (Ken Burns, Emmy Award-winning documentary fimmaker)

A wonderful new book by Ron Schick...that lifts the curtain on Rockwell's working methods, revealing how profoundly labor-intensive and thoughtfully imagined they were. (David Kamp, Vanity Fair)

Chronicler of midcentury Americana, Norman Rockwell often recruited friends and neighbors to pose for the photos that he then used to create the iconic images we know and love. Until now, that part of the painter's process remained mostly hidden, but historian Ron Schick's new book Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera reveals the primary texts next to the colorful classics they became, and the result is truly impossible to put down (NBC NewYork.com Elizabeth Bougerol)

Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera, written and compiled by Ron Schick, has given me immense newfound respect for the man, for the meticulous photography, the real people and unintentionally hilarious DIY props and sets that he required to make his painted fantasies of Americana come true (Gizmodo.com Wilson Rothman)

This is a book about one of our great homespun artists that will make you laugh, and also make you think. It's a real treasure (NPR Alan Cheuse)