Changes in Art in the 20th Century

In the early 1900s, American art began to show signs of dramatic change. No longer was art based solely on Realism; it now also included a large amount of Abstraction (Bersson, 546-584). Take for example Children Dancing at a Party, Norman Rockwell's January 26, 1918 cover of The Saturday Evening Post, and Michael West's Egian Girl from 1942. While the two pieces of art have some similarities, they are also extremely different. The changing art styles of the early 20^th century are shown in the differences between Norman Rockwell's Children Dancing at a Party and Michael West's Egian Girl.

Norman Rockwell began studying at the Chase Art School at the age of 16, after transferring from a traditional high school (Wikipedia Norman Rockwell). By the age of 19, he was given the job of art editor at Boys Life Magazine, and later began creating covers for The Saturday Evening Post. Many of these covers showed pictures of small town life, especially after he moved his family to the small town of Arlington, Vermont in 1939. He is most often recognized for his life-like sketches of people in everyday situations.

On the January 26, 1918 cover of The Saturday Evening Post, Norman Rockwell's sketch of four Children Dancing at a Party, drawn with simple yet definitive lines, portrayed the real-to-life embarrassment and pain caused by a young boy stepping on the foot of a young girl during a dance. While another couple continues to dance nearby, the girl looking over her shoulder at the events happening behind her, the injured girl is holding her foot. Her party hat has fallen on the floor next to her. Her dance partner, embarrassed by his misstep, is shown apologizing, with red cheeks and hands out. Rockwell's use of these details adds an attractive quality to his work.