“Norman Rockwell was antifa,” mentioned his granddaughter Daisy.

Norman Rockwell’s household is continuous to talk out in opposition to the Trump administration for utilizing the famed illustrator’s paintings in authorities messaging.

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His granddaughter, Daisy Rockwell accused the White House and the Department of Homeland Security of “hijacking” her grandfather’s pictures to advertise 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 artwork twisted for political messaging

In a current interview on the Norman Rockwell Museum, Daisy Rockwell expressed her outrage on the Trump administration. She didn’t approve of how the DHS had tailored her grandfather’s work to suit their messaging.

This included one which paired his Salute the Flag portray with the phrase “Protect our American way of life.”

Another DHS publish featured Rockwell’s 1946 picture of employees cleansing the Statue of Liberty. The company overlaid the portray with the phrases “PROTECT YOUR HOMELAND” and “DEFEND YOUR CULTURE.” Daisy Rockwell and others noticed these modifications 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 said.

In reality, Rockwell’s artwork was usually a automobile for difficult societal points, notably round race and civil rights. This made its use by the Trump administration all of the extra troubling for his household.

A legacy of preventing prejudice, not perpetuating it

Norman Rockwell’s paintings, as soon as used for wartime propaganda, developed over time to deal with the struggles of marginalized communities. Later on, his work turned an necessary visible a part of the Civil Rights Movement. One of his strongest work from 1964, The Problem We All Live With, depicted 6-year-old Ruby Bridges being escorted to high school by U.S. Marshals.

In her interview with the Bulwark, Daisy Rockwell mentioned, “Everybody in the family is outraged.” She famous that the usage of Rockwell’s artwork by the Trump administration felt like a betrayal of his legacy. “It’s just shocking and appalling,” she mentioned.

Daisy added that her grandfather’s inventive journey mirrored the awakening of many to the social problems with their time. “Norman Rockwell was antifa,” Daisy mentioned merely of her grandfather.

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