I'm Thinking About My Kiddie, 1922 Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) Oil on canvas en grisaille
Raybestos, a brake parts company, took a democratic approach in its 1922 advertising campaign, targeting its ads, which emphasized the importance of safety, to a wide demographic of the American public. For his seven illustrations for Raybestos print ads, Norman Rockwell portrayed a traffic policeman, a mechanic, a couple in a touring car, a bus driver, an elderly male driver, a farmer, and this image of a young urban woman and her daughter. Simple in its monchromatic rendering, the haunting gaze and Mona Lisa smile of the subject leave us wanting to know more about her and her possible relationship with Rockwell.
Ironically, as these ads stressed the improved driving safety of their products, Raybestos workers were falling ill with asbestosis, a chronic inflammatory lung disease caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers. As the company’s name suggests, Raybestos brakes contained asbestos, a mineral whose microscopic strands were released into the air when woven into brake lining fabric. The American public, however, would not learn the extent of the devastating effects of asbestos for forty more years.
Painting for Raybestos brake parts advertisement (detail) 12 x 18 inches Norman Rockwell Museum collection NRM.1985.6 Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing Company, Niles, IL.