The 2022 Norman Rockwell Porcelain Figurine Christmas Ornament is based on Norman Rockwell's painting Little Girl Looking Downstairs at Christmas Party which was painted by the artist in 1964 and graced the cover of McCall's magazine in December 1964.

Between 1917 and 1969, Rockwell created 21 story illustrations for McCall’s, which billed itself as the ‘First Magazine for Women.’ With a circulation of more than eight million issues a month, its reach was even larger than that of The Saturday Evening Post. Appearing on the cover of the Christmas issue of McCall’s in 1964, Little Girl Looking Downstairs at Christmas Party is the only cover illustration Norman Rockwell created for the publication and demonstrates the artist’s continued interest in family life.

For Little Girl Looking Downstairs at Christmas Party, Rockwell posed the young model at the top of the stairs in his own home and assembled a group of friends and neighbors downstairs. Once he was satisfied with the photos, Rockwell returned to his studio and combined his preliminary sketches with the photos to create a series of small-scale color studies. These preliminary sketches allowed Rockwell to experiment with color and provide us with a glimpse into the artist’s creative process. After executing several color studies for Little Girl Looking Downstairs at Christmas Party Rockwell ultimately decided to add additional details to the work including the young girl’s doll and wreath on the banister. 

(NOTE: The magazine cover in the photograph is for illustrative purposes only and not for sale or included in any sale.)