“No Swimming”

IN THIS FAMOUS Post COVER from early in Rockwell's career, three boys discover that a "No Swimming" sign means exactly what it says. Throughout Rockwell's work, but especially in his early paintings, boys -- and girls too for that matter -- are no better than they ought to be.

Like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, they have a knack for getting into any kind of mischief that happens to be placed at their disposal. This example shows how well Rockwell had already mastered the demands of the magazine-cover format. Note how cleverly he uses the black box that was then an integral part of the Post's cover layout. The fact that the boy on the left is vanishing at the edge of this framing device helps to add emphasis to their haste. The box is like a searchlight that has caught them in its beam. If only they could escape its confines, they would, we are encouraged to feel, be able to outdistance them pursuer.