Sunday Morning

 “Sunday Morning” by Norman Rockwell (1959)

By his body language, it’s obvious that Dad has no good reason for not joining his family for Easter morning church service. Sunk down in his tub chair, he’s probably been holding up the sports section to avoid eye contact with his family. Now, as mom, the twins, and junior pass, Dad’s cigarette smoke rises like a whisp of guilt.

Only junior breaks ranks to regard his guilty father with an amazed look that Dad’s getting away with skipping church.

Dad’s guilt is only compounded by the fact that he’s been sitting in that chair for hours, as evidenced by the disassembly of the Sunday paper, the empty coffee cup, and a cluttered ashtray.

And if, after all this, we’re uncertain about Dad’s sabbath sloth, ­Rockwell has provided him with two devilish “horns” of hair.

It’s not clear whether Rockwell identified with this dad, but the view out that living room window in Sunday Morning is, in fact, the view from Rockwell’s studio.