In the foreground, Rockwell has placed the tuner’s toolkit front and center to immediately establish the narrative quality of the work, while in the background he grants the viewer a complete view of the interior setting, from the intricate details in the library to the carved molding and windows in the upper right of the picture plane. To the right of the scene, sheet music by Mozart is propped against the piano cover, just in front of the tuner’s hat, umbrella and coat resting on the piano bench. Exquisite in its attention to detail, Piano Tuner highlights Rockwell’s extraordinary skills as a draftsman. Meanwhile, to the left, a young boy, exuding a tender and youthful innocence, hits an octave to aid the tuner hard at work. With his hands firmly on the piano keys, the experienced tuner is focused on the task at hand, listening attentively to the music to make sure it is precisely on pitch. Piano Tuner, in which a young boy and older gentlemen work together fully in unison, encases an exquisite range of detail for the inquisitive eye while also presenting an image of youthful wonder contrasted with sage expertise. Painted at the height of his career in 1947 for the January 11th cover, Piano Tuner exhibits the pinnacle of Rockwell’s achievement as a realist painter, compositional master and American storyteller. Specifically, Rockwell’s Post covers produced during the 1940s and 1950s are some of his most visually and narratively complex, and helped establish the artist as a household name across America. Painting a sweeping range of topics during a century of extensive technological and social change, Rockwell helped forge a sense of American identity through his art, producing more than 800 magazine covers for the most widely popular publications of the period. Norman Rockwell’s illustrations for the covers of The Saturday Evening Post are indelibly etched within the American consciousness as images of national pride. Kaplan, Norman Rockwell’s Spirit of America, New York, 2011, p. Cutler, Norman Rockwell's America.in England, exhibition catalogue, Newport, Rhode Island, 2010, p. Howe, “Norman Rockwell’s Shuffleton’s Barbershop: A Musical-Iconographical Riddle,” The Musical Quarterly, vol. Crenson, Norman Rockwell's Portrait of America, New York, 1989, p. Moffatt, Norman Rockwell: A Definitive Catalogue, vol. Bauer, Norman Rockwell’s Faith of America, New York, 1980, pp. Moline, Norman Rockwell Encyclopedia: A Chronological Catalog of the Artist’s Work (1910-1978), Indianapolis, Indiana, 1979, p. Finch, Norman Rockwell: 332 Magazine Covers, New York, 1979, pp. Finch, Norman Rockwell's America, New York, 1975, p. Buechner, Norman Rockwell: Artist and Illustrator, New York, 1970, p. The Saturday Evening Post, January 11, 1947, cover illustration.
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