Norman Rockwell

Even you young kids these days should be familiar with Norman Rockwell.... He made famous paintings like this:

And This:

And this:

But a lot of people don't know that Rockwell actually made some really interesting political artwork in his life also. Besides the really wholesome, patriotic artwork, he made this:

(Southern Justice: Murder in Mississippi)

This illustration shows the scene of a true story of a murder that happened in Mississippi. (Which is why its titled "Murder in Mississippi") Rockwell worked throughout the biggest civil rights movement in U.S. history, and although he sided with desegregating the country, he still had bosses that were extremely racist and wouldn't let him show African-Americans in his artwork. It wasn't until after he got famous enough to call his own shots that he was able to make work that he really cared about. This is one of my favorite paintings of his because of the tension he is able to build. What are some techniques he uses to emphasize the tension in the illustration?