“If he were alive today, he’d be devastated”: Norman Rockwell’s granddaughter blasts White House for “hijacking” his artwork
Norman Rockwell’s family is continuing to speak out against the Trump administration for using the famed illustrator’s artwork in government messaging.
His granddaughter, Daisy Rockwell accused the White House and the Department of Homeland Security of “hijacking” her grandfather’s images to promote political agendas he would have opposed, calling the repurposing “shocking and appalling” given Rockwell’s legacy of anti-racism and civil rights advocacy.
Rockwell’s iconic art twisted for political messaging
In a recent interview at the Norman Rockwell Museum, Daisy Rockwell expressed her outrage at the Trump administration. She did not approve of how the DHS had adapted her grandfather's paintings to fit their messaging.
This included one that paired his Salute the Flag painting with the phrase "Protect our American way of life."
Another DHS post featured Rockwell’s 1946 image of workers cleaning the Statue of Liberty. The agency overlaid the painting with the words "PROTECT YOUR HOMELAND" and "DEFEND YOUR CULTURE." Daisy Rockwell and others saw these changes as a misrepresentation of Rockwell’s legacy.
"If Norman Rockwell were alive today, he would be devastated to see that not only does the problem Ruby Bridges confronted 65 years ago still plague us as a society, but that his own work has been marshalled for the cause of persecution toward immigrant communities and people of color," an op-ed coauthored by Daisy Rockwell stated.
In fact, Rockwell’s art was often a vehicle for challenging societal issues, particularly around race and civil rights. This made its use by the Trump administration all the more troubling for his family.
A legacy of fighting prejudice, not perpetuating it
Norman Rockwell’s artwork, once used for wartime propaganda, evolved over the years to address the struggles of marginalized communities. Later on, his work became an important visual part of the Civil Rights Movement. One of his most powerful paintings from 1964, The Problem We All Live With, depicted 6-year-old Ruby Bridges being escorted to school by U.S. Marshals.
In her interview with the Bulwark, Daisy Rockwell said, "Everybody in the family is outraged." She noted that the use of Rockwell’s art by the Trump administration felt like a betrayal of his legacy. "It’s just shocking and appalling,” she said.
Daisy added that her grandfather’s artistic journey mirrored the awakening of many to the social issues of their time. "Norman Rockwell was antifa,” Daisy said simply of her grandfather.
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