Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)

Breaking Home Ties, published September 25, 1954 on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, ranked a favorite among readers. Empty-nester Norman Rockwell, whose three sons had left home, wanted to express his “empty feeling” with “poignancy” and “humor” by showing “a ranch boy leaving home for the first time.” The father doesn’t outwardly express his melancholy feelings, but the collie sadly rests his head on the boy’s leg.