Norman Rockwell and Race: An Art Talk with Prof. Dennis Raverty

Norman Rockwell is beloved for his charming and often humorous or sentimental illustrations. Less well-known are the socially engaged and sometimes tragic illustrations he executed near the end of his long career. This presentation on Zoom, led by retired art history professor Dennis Raverty, PhD, examines how Rockwell's representations of race shifted during the 1960s as a result of the civil rights movement.  Dr. Raverty compares these late works to Rockwell's earlier illustrations, which sometimes pandered to what we now consider to be demeaning racial stereotypes, and demonstrates how social realism became Rockwell's passionate and brilliant swan song.

Dennis Raverty, PhD, is a recently retired professor of art history at New Jersey City University where he taught African American art. He has published widely on the intersection of 20th century art and issues of race and the politics of identity.