Night Waves - Norman Rockwell

Anne McElvoy discusses the work of the American illustrator Norman Rockwell, who over six decades from 1916 to 1963 created 322 covers for the Saturday Evening Post. For the first time in the UK, Rockwell's original illustrations will be on display, in an exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London. . Incredibly prolific, Rockwell captured images of everday American life with a humour and power of observation that spoke directly to the public. These funny, occasionally sentimental images picturing America as he wished it to be, rather than as it perhaps was, gave rise to the adjective "Rockwellesque", which in some critics minds became a negative word. But recent years have seen a critical reassessment of his work, and in 1999 The New Yorker art critic stated "Rockwell is terrific. It's become too tedious to pretend he isn't". Plus, more from Radio 3's series exploring the culture of chess. Producer: Tim Prosser.