English
Norman Rockwell 1894–1978
Family Tree, 1959
Cover study for The Saturday Evening Post cover, October 24, 1959
Charcoal on paper
Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Norman Rockwell Art Collection Trust, NRACT.1973.007a
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT
Erik came to see me today, and he made a couple little comments. And I made some changes on the tree. I’ve cut out the sprig of leaves that go out beyond the aristocrat’s wife so that she’s now not directly connected with the tree.
And neither is the bar maid connected with the tree.
I’ve made the limb heavier. That was his suggestion that I make it go heavier as it gets nearer to the severed trunk. And she’s not connected so now all of the people who are not in the direct line of the family are not connected with the tree, but connected with the tree only by the members of the family that are connected with the tree. If you know what I mean.
And I think this makes it a lot more interesting. Also, had the idea of having the redheads start from the girl who married the Union Soldier, have her redhead. Have the severe looking woman, who’s a member of the family, redhead. And then have her son a redhead.
And then his daughter, which is the mother of the little boy at the top, a redhead. And then have the boy at the top a redhead.
That makes it go up so there’s a… It’ll be kind of cute, I think, having the redheads go up one side.
All day long I’ve been working on The Family Tree. And, well, it’s going fine. I might as well admit it. I figured out a system I’m going to cut out the heads, each one. And then place them just the way I want them. So they won’t be too crowded at the bottom, so they’ll be evenly divided.
Oh, I change them around a lot. I did a lot today on it. I’ve changed the… Gayle, I’m using, as the wife of the Confederate Soldier. Changed the fellow who married the Squaw into a wilder looking individual.
I worked on it all over the place and I didn’t work on the boy scout handbook figure, which I ought to have been working on. But, I’ll work on it day after tomorrow.
How many thousand days I’ve put in on this thing already. I figure I’m either one of three things. I’m either unbelievably untalented but I’ve got an awful lot of perseverance, or else I’m unbelievably stupid, or else I’m an artist.
I mean, I’m seeking perfection. This is what I’d like to think. But, I don’t know.