Willie Gillis, Jr. is a fictional character created by Norman Rockwell for a series of World War II paintings that appeared on the covers of 11 issues of The Saturday Evening Post between 1941 and 1946. Gillis was an everyman with the rank of private whose career was tracked on the cover of the Post from induction through discharge without being depicted in battle. He and his girlfriend were modeled by two of Rockwell's acquaintances.
The Willie Gillis debut: Willie Gillis Food Package (10-04-1941)
Willie Gillis Home on Leave (11-29-1941)
Willie Gillis in Convoy (1943) was a depiction of Gillis close to the battlefield that was not used as cover art.
Willie Gillis in College (October 5, 1946) broke with the style of the wartime posters, depicting Gillis as a civilian in a peaceful environment.
Norman Percevel Rockwell was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of the country's culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over nearly five decades. Among the best-known of Rockwell's works are the Willie Gillis series, Rosie the Riveter,
The Problem We All Live With, Saying Grace, and the Four Freedoms series. He is also noted for his 64-year relationship with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), during which he produced covers for their publication Boys' Life, calendars, and other illustrations. These works include popular images that reflect the Scout Oath and Scout Law such as The Scoutmaster, A Scout Is Reverent, and A Guiding Hand.
Rockwell in c. 1921
Rockwell's first Scouting calendar, 1925
Saturday Evening Post cover (September 27, 1924)
Cousin Reginald Spells Peloponnesus. Norman Rockwell, 1918.