The artwork “New Television Antenna” by Norman Rockwell was created in 1949 and embodies the Regionalism art movement. This genre painting, illustrating a scene from everyday life, is rendered in oil on canvas and measures approximately 46 1/8 x 43 3/8 inches. It is part of the collection housed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles, California, United States.
The artwork portrays a slice of mid-20th-century Americana. Atop a steep gable roof, a man is precariously perched, eagerly working to install a new television antenna. Beneath him, inside the attic that has been converted into a cozy, makeshift space, another man—likely bespectacled given the glare reflecting off his glasses—watches with a mix of concentration and concern, the cords of his sweater vest echoing the tangled antenna wires. Around him, a variety of knick-knacks and a flower box add personal touches to the setting, highlighting the quaint and homey character depicted with Rockwell’s keen eye for detail. The backdrop features a brick chimney, perched birds, and a church spire in the distance, reinforcing the small-town atmosphere and suggesting a connection between the new technology and traditional community values. Norman Rockwell’s signature can be observed on the lower right side of the artwork, which further authenticates this scene as a charming and humorous reflection on the advent of the television era in American households.