Freedom of the Press; Poor Richard’s Almanac c. 1930

Norman Rockwell made this painting, “Freedom of the Press; Poor Richard’s Almanac,” with oil paints on canvas. Rockwell’s got these two guys bathed in this warm, golden light, poring over a piece of paper in what looks like a print shop. You can almost smell the ink and hear the clatter of the printing press! The guy in the front is holding the paper like it’s the most important thing in the world. You know, he's probably thinking about how his words will impact readers. Rockwell was always capturing these everyday moments, but underneath, he's sneaking in these big ideas. It's like he's saying, "Hey, we gotta protect this freedom of speech thing; it's kinda a big deal!" He shares this narrative approach with other American painters like Edward Hopper. It's like they're all in on this conversation, bouncing ideas off each other across time.