| Growth of a Leader | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Norman Rockwell |
| Year | 1964 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 91 cm× 81 cm(36 in× 32 in) |
| Location | National Scouting Museum |
Growth of a Leader is a 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell. It appeared as the 1966 Brown & Bigelow Boy Scout Calendar. Long-time Rockwell model James Edgerton and his son are depicted as a Scout moving through the stages of a man's Scouting career.
The Edgerton family lived next to Norman Rockwell for 10 years. During that time, four generations of Edgertons posed for Rockwell. [1] The first time that James "Buddy" Edgerton posed for Rockwell was for the 1945 Boy Scout Calendar illustration, I Will Do My Best , [2] in 1943. [3] The final time was for Growth of a Leader, after Rockwell moved from Arlington, Vermont, to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. [3] Of the four men depicted, three were modeled after Buddy and the fourth, the Cub Scout, was modeled after his son. [4] Since no one in the Edgerton family was involved in Scouting, all of the uniforms were borrowed from friends. [1]
The painting depicts the stages a man goes through as he moves through the Scouting program, in front of an American flag. [5] The cycle starts with a young Cub Scout. As the boy becomes older he moves to the Boy Scout and then the Sea Scout/Explorer (modern day Venturing) programs. [6] The Sea Scout has an Eagle Scout pin on his uniform. Finally, the man, with flecks of gray in his temples, becomes a Scoutmaster. Each of the figures is looking at a single point off of the canvasing, giving them the feeling of being united in a single purpose. [7]
The painting represents the increase in maturity a Scout gains as he goes through the program. This is shown by the physical changes to each of the figures and by the change in expression on each of their faces. [6]
Norman Percevel Rockwell was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of the country's culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over nearly five decades. Among the best-known of Rockwell's works are the Willie Gillis series, Rosie the Riveter, The Problem We All Live With, Saying Grace, and the Four Freedoms series. He is also noted for his 64-year relationship with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), during which he produced covers for their publication Boys' Life, calendars, and other illustrations. These works include popular images that reflect the Scout Oath and Scout Law such as The Scoutmaster, A Scout Is Reverent and A Guiding Hand, among many others.
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded in 1910, and since then, about 110 million Americans have participated in BSA programs. BSA is part of the international Scout Movement and became a founding member organization of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922.
Scouting in Vermont has a long history, from the 1907 to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Cub Scouts, Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with Scouting for young children usually between 7 and 12, depending on the organization to which they belong. A participant in the program is called a Cub. A group of Cubs is called a 'Pack'.
Cub Scouting is part of the Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), available to boys and girls from kindergarten through fifth grade, or 5 to 10 years of age and their families. Its membership is the largest of the five main BSA divisions. Cub Scouting is part of the worldwide Scouting movement and aims to promote character development, citizenship training, personal fitness, and leadership.
Joseph Csatari is a realist artist who worked with Norman Rockwell. As a boy, Csatari had painstakingly recreated Saturday Evening Post covers that Rockwell had painted. In 1977, shortly before Rockwell died, Csatari was commissioned as the Boy Scouts of America (BSA)'s official artist.
Since Scouting began in 1907, it has entered into many elements of popular culture, including movies, TV and books.
Brown & Bigelow is a company based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that sells branded apparel and promotional merchandise.
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was inspired by and modeled on The Boy Scouts Association, established by Robert Baden-Powell in Britain in 1910. In the early 1900s, several youth organizations were active, and many became part of the BSA.
Breaking Home Ties is a painting by American illustrator Norman Rockwell, created for the September 25, 1954, cover of The Saturday Evening Post. The picture represents a father and son waiting for a train that will take the young man to the state university. The painting, considered by experts to be one of Rockwell's masterworks, is also one of the most widely reproduced, and was voted the second-most popular image in Post history.
The Sequoia Council serves Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare Counties in California. Founded in 1919 as the Fresno Council, it changed its name to Sequoia Council in 1925. In 1992, the Mount Whitney Area Council (#054) merged into Sequoia. The council was the first in California to sponsor an all girl cub scout pack.
Willie Gillis, Jr. is a fictional character created by Norman Rockwell for a series of World War II paintings that appeared on the covers of 11 issues of The Saturday Evening Post between 1941 and 1946. Gillis was an everyman with the rank of private whose career was tracked on the cover of the Post from induction through discharge without being depicted in battle. He and his girlfriend were modeled by two of Rockwell's acquaintances.
The Four Freedoms is a series of four oil paintings made in 1943 by the American artist Norman Rockwell. The paintings—Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear—are each approximately 45.75 by 35.5 inches, and are now in the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The four freedoms refer to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's January 1941 Four Freedoms State of the Union address, in which he identified essential human rights that should be universally protected. The theme was incorporated into the Atlantic Charter, and became part of the Charter of the United Nations. The paintings were reproduced in The Saturday Evening Post over four consecutive weeks in 1943, alongside essays by prominent thinkers of the day. They became the highlight of a touring exhibition sponsored by The Post and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The exhibition and accompanying sales drives of war bonds raised over $132 million.
Freedom of Speech is the first of the Four Freedoms paintings by Norman Rockwell, inspired by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address, known as Four Freedoms.
Freedom of Worship or Freedom to Worship is the second of the Four Freedoms oil paintings produced by the American artist Norman Rockwell. The series was based on the goals known as the Four Freedoms enunciated by Franklin D. Roosevelt, president of the United States from 1933 to 1945, in his State of the Union Address delivered on January 6, 1941. Rockwell considered this painting and Freedom of Speech the most successful of the series. Freedom of Worship was published in the February 27, 1943, issue of The Saturday Evening Post alongside an essay by philosopher Will Durant.
The Scoutmaster is a 1956 painting by American illustrator Norman Rockwell. It was originally created by Rockwell for the 1956 Brown & Bigelow Boy Scout Calendar. Since then, it has become one of the most collected images that Rockwell created for the Boy Scouts of America.
We, Too, Have a Job to Do is a painting by American illustrator Norman Rockwell that depicts a Boy Scout in full uniform standing in front of a waving American flag. It was originally created by Rockwell in 1942 for the 1944 Brown & Bigelow Boy Scout Calendar. The model, Bob Hamilton, won a contest to be in the painting and personally delivered a print to the Vice President of the United States at the time, Henry A. Wallace.
The Rookie or The Rookie is a 1957 painting by American artist Norman Rockwell, painted for the March 2, 1957, cover of The Saturday Evening Post magazine.
Marriage License is a painting by American illustrator Norman Rockwell. It was originally created for the cover of the June 11, 1955, edition of The Saturday Evening Post. It depicts a young man and woman filling out a marriage license application at city hall in front of a bored-looking clerk. The painting was based on reference photos taken of Stockbridge native Joan Lahart, her fiancé Francis Mahoney, a retired NBA player, and local shopkeeper Jason Braman. Since appearing on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, the painting has been praised by critics and is considered one of Rockwell's best works.