Rockwell and Csatari
Boy Scout Calendar Artists
Norman Rockwell
One day in the fall of 1912, a talented 18-year-old art student
named Norman Rockwell walked into the offices of Boy's Life looking
for work. When he left, he had his first commission to do a magazine
illustration and had begun a relationship with the Boy Scouts
of America that would last for more than 60 years. Rockwell became
the visual spokesman for Scouting, bringing its spirit and ideals
to life through hundreds of now-classic paintings.
When the gangly Rockwell tried to join the Navy to fight in
World War I, in 1917, he was at first rejected for being 17 pounds
underweight. He later made it in with the help of a Navy doctor
who waived a rule for him, but then found himself doing "morale"
work at a base in Charleston, S.C., preparing art for the camp
newspaper and painting and sketching officers and sailors. He
was given a special early discharge from the navy after painting
a portrait of his commanding officer. Throughout his life, he
remained deeply patriotic, and he frequently used heroic symbols,
especially the American flag, to communicate patriotic values
to Boy Scouts.
Every year but two from 1925 through 1976, Norman Rockwell
did a painting for the annual Boy Scout calendar published by
Brown & Bigelow. Each painting presented an image of idealized
Scouts in worthy action, and always with meticulously accurate
uniforms and equipment. By 1929, the Boy Scout calendar was the
most popular in America, and it remained so for many years.
Asked if he might ever run out of subjects for his paintings,
Rockwell once said, "The Boy Scouts are simply going to have
to devise some new deeds or Brown & Bigelow will be in a stew."
Yet the artist always found fresh ways to evoke the virtues of
Scouting. In 1939, when he had been painting Scouts for more than
25 years, Rockwell was honored with the highest award given by
the Boy Scouts of America, the Silver Buffalo, presented before
an audience of 3,000 people at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.
In the sixties, Rockwell's focus broadened to include many
more minority and foreign Scouts. His calendar paintings for the
world jamboree years of 1963 and 1967 both depicted Scouts of
various nations joyously united.
"The common places of America are to me the richest subjects
in art," he once said. "Boys batting flies on vacant
lots; girls playing jacks on front steps; old men plodding home
at twilight; all these arouse feelings in me."
Rockwell's illustrations almost defined America in the middle
part of the 20th century; they certainly helped define Scouting.
His career spanned nearly the whole history of the Boy Scouts
to date, encompassing an age during which both America and the
Boy Scouts grew immensely, a period, as Rockwell wrote, "when
America believed in itself. I was happy to be painting it."
The artist died in 1978 at the age of 84. [reference: The Boy
Scouts, Robert Peterson] [return to top]
The following are Norman Rockwell's
calendar paintings:
1925 |
A Good Scout |
Scout bandaging puppies foot with mother
dog watching. |
1963 |
A Good Sign All Over The World |
International Scouts dance to bagpipe in
front of globe. |
1926 |
A Good Turn |
Scout reading to old sailor with puppy. |
1965 |
A Great Moment |
Mother pins Eagle on Scout with father
and Scoutmaster. |
1946 |
A Guiding Hand |
Boy Scout teaches Cub Scout on box to tie
a knot. |
1943 |
A Scout is Friendly |
Scout in patrol 7 helps elderly couple
with small boy. |
1941 |
A Scout Is Helpful |
Scout carrying girl wrapped in quilt in
flood. |
1942 |
A Scout Is Loyal |
Scout with hat in front of Bill of Rights,
presidents & Eagle. |
1932 |
A Scout is Loyal |
George Washington points way for Scout
in front of clouds. |
1954 |
A Scout Is Reverent |
Explorer and Scout sitting in pew in front
of Cub Scout. |
1940 |
A Scout Is Reverent |
Scout kneels in church pew next to elderly
man. |
1947 |
All Together |
Scout with pack pulling another Scout with
dog up onto rock. |
1938 |
America Builds for Tomorrow |
Scout shows 2 Cubs & Den Mother how
to build bird house. |
1971 |
America's Manpower Begins With Boypower |
2 Cubs hold Scout emblem in front of Scouts
and leaders. |
1933 |
An Army of Friendship |
Smiling international Scouts in campaign
hats salute. |
1969 |
Beyond The Easel |
Rockwell painting with Scouts watching. |
1967 |
Breakthrough For Freedom |
International Scouts link arms in front
of flags. |
1972 |
Can't Wait |
Small boy saluting in large uniform with
Cub uniform on chair. |
1934 |
Carry On |
Outdoorsman points way for hiking Senior
Scout with dog. |
1970 |
Come And Get It |
Scout tastes cooking near Scouts &
leader along lake at Camp. |
1960 |
Ever Onward [50th anniversary] |
1910 Scout and 1960 Cub and Scout hold
scroll of Scout oath. |
1951 |
Forward America |
Explorer, Cub, Scout, Air Scout, and Sea
Scout in profile. |
1949 |
Friend in Need |
Cub Scout holds dog as Scout bandages paw
near tree. |
1973 |
From Concord To Tranquility |
Scouts and astronaut salute in front of
flag. |
1927 |
Good Friends [A Scout is Kind] |
Scout feeding puppies with mother dog watching. |
1935 |
Good Scout [or A Good Scout] |
Scout with campaign hat feeds dog in wood
pen. |
1966 |
Growth of a Leader |
Cub, Scout, Explorer and Scoutmaster profile
in front of flag. |
1957 |
High Adventure |
Explorers with packs in front of Tooth
of Time at Philmont. |
1961 |
Homecoming |
Scout with pack and duffel is checked by
father, family & dog. |
1945 |
I Will Do My Best |
Scout pledges in front of wall with oath
inscribed. |
1948 |
Men of Tomorrow |
Cub Scout watches as Scouts portage canoe. |
1958 |
Mighty Proud |
Older brother on knees with family straighten
uniform on Scout. |
1953 |
On My Honor |
Explorer and Scout pledge with Cub Scout
in front of oath. |
1950 |
Our Heritage |
Scout & Cub Scout with book in front
of Washington praying. |
1962 |
Pointing The Way |
Scoutmaster points way to 3 Scouts as 4th
approaches. |
1931 |
Scout Memories |
Dan Beard in Daniel Boone outfit telling
story to seated Scout. |
1937 |
Scout of Many Trails |
Sea Scout and Boy Scout look at globe with
old sailor. |
1968 |
Scouting Is Outing |
Scout pour out of building and go down
street with dog. |
1975 |
So Much Concern |
Scouts in red berets with crutch planting
trees. |
1929 |
Spirit of America |
Scout profile with campaign hat & red
neckerchief & US heros. |
1952 |
The Adventure Trail |
First class Scout shows 2 Cub Scouts arrowhead
near tree. |
1936 |
The Campfire Story |
Leader shows 2 Scouts & dog Indian
headdress. |
1955 |
The Right Way |
Star Scout shows two Cub Scouts how to
build bird house. |
1939 |
The Scouting Trail |
Cub, Scout, Sea Scout, historic mural and
Scouting Trail scroll. |
1956 |
The Scoutmaster |
Scoutmaster tends fire as Scouts sleep
in their tents under stars. |
1976 |
The Spirit of 1976 |
Cub, Explorers, Scout and leader with drums,
fife and flag. |
1964 |
To Keep Myself Physically Strong |
Cub standing on chair measuring brothers
chest size with dog. |
1959 |
Tomorrow's Leader |
Scout holds compass in front of Scout emblem
& merit badges |
1974 |
We Thank Thee, O' Lord |
Scouts seated under dining fly pray as
cook watches. |
1944 |
We, Too, Have A Job To Do |
First Class Scout in campaign hand salutes
in front of flag. |
Some other well known Rockwell paintings are:
Joseph Csatari joined the staff of the BSA National Council
in 1953 as a layout artist in the Supply Division's advertising
department. By 1960's, he was art director, designing advertising
and sales promotional pieces, cover illustrations, and posters.
In 1973, he was named art director of Boys' Life magazine.
Also, during this time he had begun working closely with Norman
Rockwell as the famed illustrator created his annual Boy Scout
calendar painting.
Csatari's job was to come up with possible themes for the paintings
and make rough sketches for Rockwell. Once Rockwell decided on
a concept, Csatari would gather models and shuttle them up for
a photo shoot in the artist's studio in Stockbridge, Mass.
During the time Rockwell was working on his last two BSA paintings,
Csatari often traveled to Stockbridge to assist the aging artist.
"He'd let me paint the boots or some other minor part
of the painting," Csatari says. "That was the thrill
of my life-even though I know he went back over what I had done."
In 1976 when Rockwell retired from the calendar commission,
the BSA asked Csatari to continue in the Rockwell tradition.
"My work may be reminiscent of the Rockwell style,"
Csatari says, "but I'm no Rockwell. Norman was in another
league. He was a great storyteller and humorist, a kind of pictorial
Mark Twain."
Since the 1977 BSA calendar, Csatari has made 24 paintings
for the Boy Scouts of America, including a painting commemorating
the endowment program's 1910 Society. In 1997 an exhibit of these
paintings toured the United States at fund-raising events in local
councils throughout the country.
Though it's not well known, Csatari also painted more than
10 official portraits of BSA presidents and Chief Scout Executives
during his career. But it's his paintings of "Boy Scouts
being Boy Scouts, having fun in the outdoors, and doing community
service projects" that he finds most rewarding. [reference:
Scouting, 9/97]
Joseph Csatari's Scouting paintings
include:[return to top]
Links And More
|