“A time For Greatness”

NORMAN ROCKWELL BEGAN HIS CAREER at a time when the illustrator reigned supreme. Newsreels and photo-journalism were in their infancy; television was decades away. By the time he came to portray John F. Kennedy receiving the acclamation of the Democratic Party's National Convention for Look magazine the situation had changed radically. An event such as this was now covered by every imaginable kind of medium and the public, bombarded with literally millions of images, was able to experience the event in the home as it happened.

In his portrayal of the occasion Rockwell fell back on the tried-and-true methods of his trade, counting on them to provide him with something that could not be achieved by any other means. He created a careful, studied composition, using the standards of half a dozen states to frame the President-to-be caught in a heroic pose. Rockwell's competitors, the photographers, are shown jockeying for position down among the delegates on the floor. By contrast, Rockwell was able to choose for himself a viewpoint high above the heads of the crowd.

Instead of trying to compete with the spontaneity of photo- journalism, he gives us a symbolic record of the event.