Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978). So You Want to See the President!, The Saturday Evening Post interior (co...

Description

Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978)
So You Want to See the President!, The Saturday Evening Post interior (complete series; 19 vignettes, 4 sheets), November 13, 1943
Mixed media on paper, each
28 x 21-3/4 inches (71.1 x 55.2 cm) (Panel One)
28-3/8 x 21-7/8 inches (72.1 x 55.6 cm) (Panels Two, Three, Four)
Signed and titled upper left of panel one: So You Want / to See the President! / sketched / by / Norman Rockwell
Signed and inscribed on card mounted on lower left of panel one: To Steve Early / in gratitude for / his great kindness / Norman Rockwell
Initialed on panel four at lower right of sofa: N/R

PROVENANCE:
The artist;
Mr. Stephen T. Early, gifted from the above;
By descent to the present owner.

EXHIBITED:
The White House, Washington, D.C., 1978-December 2022 (on loan).

LITERATURE:
The Saturday Evening Post, November 13, 1943, pp 9-12, illustrated;
A.L. Guptil, Norman Rockwell Illustrator, New York, 1946, hardcover, p. 94, illustrated;
C. Finch, Norman Rockwell's America, New York, 1975, pp. 214-30;
M. Moline, Norman Rockwell Encyclopedia, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1979, p. 119, fig. 2-71 illustrated;
L.N. Moffatt, Norman Rockwell: A Definitive Catalogue, Vol. 2, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 1986, pp. 776-79, no. S582-S600, illustrated.


"The President belongs to the people. My job is to help the people see their President."
- Mr. Stephen T. Early as quoted in The Press and the President (White House Correspondents' Association Archives, Washington, D.C.).


In the grand arc of Norman Rockwell's career, So You Want to See the President! stands as one of his most ambitious and conceptually unified achievements-his only known suite of four interrelated paintings conceived to tell a single, continuous story. Created in 1943, at the height of World War II, the series offers an intimate and deeply human portrayal of American democracy in action. Within the waiting room of the White House, Rockwell assembled a cross-section of the nation-members of the press, military leaders from the United States and abroad, Secret Service agents, and even Miss America-all gathered in quiet anticipation of meeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Each vignette captures a distinct cadence of character and mood, yet together they form a seamless visual narrative of aspiration, humility, and shared civic purpose.

Rockwell engaged with political subject matter from the earliest years of his career, beginning with Election Debate, featured on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post on October 9, 1920. Throughout his body of work, Rockwell sought inclusivity, aiming to connect with the widest possible audience. No matter how directly he addressed the political or social issues of his day, his imagery remained free of partisanship, often leaning toward humor or comfort rather than moralizing.

The origins of this masterful suite lie in the close professional and personal alliance between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his longtime press secretary, Stephen T. Early, one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century American public relations. A former Associated Press journalist, Early joined Roosevelt during the 1932 campaign and remained by his side through the New Deal and World War II. Far more than an aide, he was the President's confidant, communications strategist, and vital link to the American people. As President Harry S. Truman reflected upon Early's death in 1951, "Through that long and eventful period, whether the crisis was due to domestic depression, national preparedness, or the prosecution of the most devastating war in human annals, [Early] was always at the side of President Roosevelt as secretary, friend, and sagacious adviser" (H.S. Truman, "Statement by the President on the Death of Stephen T. Early," August 11, 1951, The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara).

Early revolutionized presidential communications, instituting FDR's twice-weekly press conferences and coining the term "Fireside Chats," innovations that permanently reshaped the relationship between the presidency and the public. His insight, discipline, and instinct for narrative were instrumental to Roosevelt's success-and to the enduring ideal of democratic transparency that the administration came to represent. Understanding the symbolic power of the presidency-and, crucially, of art and media-to sustain morale during turbulent times, Early invited Rockwell to the White House to observe and sketch the steady procession of visitors seeking an audience with the Commander in Chief.

The resulting series was not a portrait of political power but of accessibility. Rockwell revealed a government that was profoundly human and, in doing so, reaffirmed the democratic principle that leadership remained close to the people it served. The timing was vital: 1943 was a year of sacrifice and uncertainty, and America needed reassurance that its institutions remained steadfast. Through Rockwell's eye-and Early's intuition-the White House became not an ivory tower but a place where the ordinary and the extraordinary converged.

The result is a tableau that could stand for every American-an image of collective identity as much as individual character. As art historian Thomas S. Buechner observed, "[Rockwell's] subject was average America. He painted it with such benevolent affection for so many years that a truly remarkable history of our century has been compiled. Millions of people have been moved by his picture stories about pride in country, history, and heritage, about reverence, loyalty, and compassion. The virtues that he admires have been very popular, and because he illustrates them using familiar people in familiar settings with wonderful accuracy, he continues to grow as new generations live through the same quintessentially American types of experiences that he so faithfully depicted in his art" (Norman Rockwell: A Sixty Year Retrospective, New York, 1972, p. 13).

In So You Want to See the President!, Rockwell distilled these values into a unified narrative-transforming the White House waiting room into a microcosm of democracy, where every face and gesture speaks to the endurance of the American spirit. His four interlinked scenes unfold like chapters in a single story, set entirely within the same space-a symbolic stage for democracy itself.

Panel One introduces the premise with disarming intimacy. In the foreground, Early receives "gentlemen of the press" as they arrive, their faces turned from the viewer so that Early remains the clear focal point. Rockwell arranges his characters with characteristic precision throughout the series: well-dressed women in hats and gloves, uniformed servicemen at attention, and ordinary citizens clutching their invitations.

Panel Two broadens the scene to include a striking mix of figures emblematic of the American mosaic. A decorated Scottish officer sits beside a poised Secret Service agent, as Secret Service men lean on a table beneath a rack hung with the President's gas masks-reminders of wartime vigilance. Miss America, radiant in her canary yellow dress, anchors the composition as a symbol of patriotic grace and optimism on the home front. Below, a cluster of journalists surrounds Rockwell himself, sketchpad in hand and humorously labeled "a hero is interviewed," injecting self-aware wit into the tableau. To one side, reporters lean into telephone booths, urgently dictating their latest scoop, embodying the restless pulse of Washington-where news, politics, and personality intertwine.

In Panel Three, the waiting room grows more animated. Here Rockwell presents Senators Tom Connally (D., Texas) and Warren R. Austin (R., Vermont)-two major political figures of 1943-engaged in genial conversation. By seating them figuratively shoulder to shoulder on the red sofa, Rockwell celebrates bipartisan unity at the height of the war: Democrats and Republicans alike joined in service to a common cause. Their presence among generals, servicemen, Miss America, and reporters signals Roosevelt's vision of democracy as inclusive and cooperative-an image of government in harmony with its people.

In the lower right of the same panel, Rockwell depicts Generals Joseph W. "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell and Edwin M. "Pa" Watson, whose handshake-captured by a press photographer-embodies mutual respect between the military command abroad and the President's inner circle at home. Stilwell, commander in the China-Burma-India theater, represented the far-flung reach of America's war effort; Watson, Roosevelt's appointments secretary and trusted aide, symbolized the nerve center of decision-making in Washington. Together, they form a bridge between global strategy and domestic leadership, a quiet affirmation of the disciplined coordination that underpinned victory.

Panel Four brings the narrative to its gentle conclusion. The familiar red couches-linking all four compositions-anchor the final scene, as the door to the Oval Office stands slightly ajar, revealing a glimpse of Roosevelt at his desk. The formality of the earlier panels gives way to warmth: the great institution of the presidency reimagined not as distant authority, but as a site of personal connection and humanity.

So You Want to See the President! demonstrates Rockwell's technical and psychological mastery. His meticulous rendering of fabric, furniture, and gesture conveys both realism and intimacy, while his consistent vantage point and restrained palette bind the works into a single visual continuum. Each composition flows naturally into the next, and his subjects-whether senators, soldiers, or citizens-emerge not as caricatures but as archetypes of shared national identity, rendered with empathy and quiet humor.

In 1943, as Roosevelt's administration guided the nation through war abroad and rationing at home, Rockwell's White House scenes served as both reassurance and aspiration. They reminded Americans that democracy was not an abstraction of policy but the lived experience of ordinary people striving toward hope and decency. The suite's humanity remains strikingly contemporary: even in an era of division, its civility, patience, and mutual respect continue to resonate.

The significance of this group deepened further in the decades that followed. From 1978 until 2022, So You Want to See the President! hung prominently in the White House on long-term loan from the family of Stephen T. Early. In November 2023, a federal court definitively resolved its ownership, ruling that the works had been gifted by Early during his lifetime to his descendant, William Nile Elam, III. The decision not only clarified legal title but reaffirmed the historical continuum between Rockwell, Early, and Roosevelt-a relationship rooted in integrity, purpose, and faith in the power of images to shape the American story.

Viewed as a whole, So You Want to See the President! represents Rockwell at the height of his narrative and conceptual powers. Each panel stands alone, yet together they form a cinematic sequence-a visual essay on democracy, empathy, and the quiet dignity of civic life. Rockwell transcended the conventions of illustration to create a meditation on accessibility and belonging, bridging the space between citizen and leader. As both historical document and artistic triumph, the suite endures as one of Rockwell's most eloquent statements: a vision of the nation at its best-hopeful, humble, and profoundly human.


More information about Norman Rockwell. See also: Rockwell, Norman, Rockwell, Norman Perceval Artist.

Estimate: $4,000,000 - $6,000,000.

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