“Homecoming GI”

IN WHAT WAS TO BECOME ONE of his most celebrated Post covers, Rockwell painted a young, redheaded GI returning home safely from the war. All the predictable elements for a successful tear-jerker are present. The aproned mother waits with open arms. Father and sisters gasp with delight. The kid brother and the dog rush to greet the returning hero, while neighbors, who have their own sons in the service, look on. The girl next door, who has blossomed during his absence, waits shyly to be noticed.

It is a painting packed solid with sentiment, a fact that can easily be justified by the time in which it was painted. It is even more effective because, rather than set his homecoming in some comfortable suburban environment, Rockwell chose to locate it in a big-city tenement area. This might be the Lower East Side of Manhattan or the South Side of Boston, and the feeling of closeness that we associate with such neighborhoods lends an extra emotional kick to the painting. Rockwell portrays the subject faithfully, without attempting to glamorize it in any way.