The Dough Boy and His Admirers c. 1919

Curator: Norman Rockwell's "The Dough Boy and His Admirers," dating from around 1919, is before us. Painted in oil, it’s quite the snapshot of post-World War I America. What's your take, fresh eyes on this piece? Editor: It's fascinating to see how Rockwell immortalizes the cultural symbolism of this soldier as he's essentially made into a figure of both worship and entertainment, as can be understood in part via the way these boys adorn themselves as if dressing up as soldiers; in a playful and humorous way to emulate this admired figure in reality. I mean, talk about constructed meaning via constructed materiality. Curator: Precisely. Look at the Doughboy’s upward gaze. The boys surrounding him seem utterly captivated. Rockwell has created a lovely echo here, hasn't he? They are playing and emulating heroism by scavenging for scraps and things. Editor: I would agree that there's this sense of imitation involved, although that in itself speaks to their actual means: while the Doughboy has actually earned his regalia (whether or not those are the virtues that actually hold significance here is worth considering too), these children are in some way trying to mimic it and in some cases, doing so rather imperfectly. Even their ages and physical expressions seem mismatched somehow. Curator: Indeed, some expressions almost border on comical! This reminds me of those medieval paintings, really, the sort where you had the noble saint surrounded by awestruck devotees. Rockwell really had this painterly language down pat. It makes me wonder, too, about the materials used in this era; that smooth finish—what processes contributed to that quality? Editor: You're thinking about the oil paint itself? The accessibility, standardization, and sheer availability of the paint as a readymade material is perhaps a huge undercurrent that informs all painting, let alone just this image. Curator: The point being it informs this piece because this is mass-produced hero worship we're viewing. A manufactured image if you will! I wonder if Rockwell intended that. Editor: Intentional or not, by using oil on canvas Rockwell uses the very same industrial means of representation to depict these other mass manufactured symbols that denote American pride. We see them and admire both their literal qualities, in reality, and then replicated onto canvas. It's a strange game. Curator: And games always need toys. I suppose it is that very game that makes this artwork live so vivaciously after a hundred years. It’s as though we too have become admirers in this oil painting. Editor: A rather humbling admission indeed. By understanding it in this way, hopefully more visitors will walk away and consider their own role in propagating such heroic images, made not just of flesh and blood, but oil on canvas and cultural symbolism too.