Some people have been kind enough to call me a fine artist. I've always called myself an illustrator. I'm not sure what the difference is. All I know is that whatever type of work I do, I try to give it my very best. Art has been my life.

Rockwell's work was dismissed by serious art critics in his lifetime. He spent the next ten years painting for Look magazine where his work depicted his interests in civil rights poverty and space exploration. [citation needed]

Rockwell's family moved to New Rochelle New York when Norman was 21 years old and shared a studio with the cartoonist Clyde Forsythe who worked for The Saturday Evening Post.

Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine for more than four decades. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American culture.