Category: AMERICANA

The Runaway, by Norman Rockwell, 1958

“The painting of a trooper bending over in counsel to a young boy intent on leaving home captures — much more than any of the images of shootouts and car chases favored by popular culture — the highest ideal of police work: helping someone in need at a vulnerable moment,” Col. Marian McGovern said, at the service held for the funeral of  Sgt R.J. Clemens, the policeman who posed for the painting.

Not long ago, art critics used to scorn Rockwell’s art. Respectable museums would not display his art. Today museums worry that they can no longer afford his art. An important exhibition of Rockwell’s paintings, Massachusetts, is on an international tour. The exhibition is based on Rockwell’s famous “Four Freedom” paintings.  There is  another exhibition in a New York museum of modern conceptual art where modern artists have simulated Rockwell’s Four Freedoms paintings, by inserting more diverse characters such as African Americans, LGBTQ people, Muslims, and other historically neglected groups.

Some critics used to say that Rockwell’s paintings were clichés: “They weren’t clichés until Rockwell invented them and they were embraced by the public”, Frank Miller, author of ‘Batman: the Dark Knight’ replied.

While Rockwell was earning a good living as the cover artist for The Saturday Evening Post, he was hurt by the critical reaction to his work. In spite of his feelings, he decides to continue with illustration.

Some major artists, such as Andy Warhol and directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, recognized the quality of Rockwell’s work and were not put off by the critics. Some even said that they learned from the way  he staged a story.

Here is the photo that Norman Rockwell took before painting g the picture, as he always did : 

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Click here to read about Norman Rockwell.

Americana objects are connected to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States of America. Americana is any collection of materials and things characteristic of the United States or of the American people, and is representative or even stereotypical of American culture.

Americana is influenced by national identity, historical context, patriotism and nostalgia. The values and  ideals which have come to characterize America, such as The American Dream, are central to the idea.

The things belonging to that category not be old, but are often associated with some element of the American experience. Advertising and marketing characterize periods, and the various types of antiques and  collectible  from these time periods are typical of Americana.

Material objects but also people, places, concepts and historical eras which are popularly identified with American culture belong to Americana.

The name “Americana” also refers to Americana music, a genre of contemporary music which incorporates elements of various American music styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound.