The Organ Grinder 1920

Norman Rockwell made this charming painting of an organ grinder and some kids, but who knows when, exactly? The whole scene glows with warm browns and soft light. You can almost hear the music. I love the way the paint describes the kids' straw hats. You can feel the texture and weight of them. Imagine Rockwell, carefully rendering each strand of straw, layering the paint just so, so that it catches the light. What was he thinking as he applied each stroke? There's a sense of nostalgia here, an old-world charm that I think Rockwell was so good at capturing. He’s got a really specific method of description in his paintings and they are totally unique to him, but also they relate to all sorts of painting that came before. He reminds me that we're all in conversation with each other, across time and space. Each brushstroke, each choice of color, it’s all part of an ongoing exchange of ideas.