Norman Rockwell’s Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?

In a bit of a when-did-you-stop-beating-your-wife story, the New York Times addresses the Rockwell family’s annoyance that Deborah Solomon’s new biography of the artist muses on his repressed sexual urges. The newspaper even takes the family members to task for distracting from the discussion of Rockwell’s lasting merit as a painter which allows Solomon to admonish the family:

“The discussion is really about his work,” she said. “I feel like this is really the first book that convincingly makes the case for Rockwell’s artistic importance, and I would hope to keep the discussion on that subject.”

Asked whether she believes Rockwell was gay, she said, “I’m a biographer, I am not a psychiatrist. I would never presume to say that someone is gay. But I do feel entitled as an art critic and an art historian to analyze works of art. And I do think a case can be made that some of Rockwell’s paintings display homoerotic tendencies. He specialized in affectionate portrayals of the male figure and lamented many times that he could never paint a sexy woman. And nowhere in the book do I say that he is gay.”

Rockwell Biography Angers His Family (NYTimes)