Art and card games go together well.

Obviously, there’s the art to be displayed on the card deck itself – and then there’s the art about cards, card players and card decks.

Most people know about the Poker Playing Dogs – but what about any paintings that depict the playing of bridge?

Gold was struck in Norman Rockwell’s “Bridge Game”.

And here follows a few facts:

1. Norman Rockwell (1894 to 1978) was best-known as an American artist and illustrator – and his work came to be considered one of the best portrayals of American culture at the time.
   
   
2. Rockwell illustrated work for publications like the Saturday Evening Post, Boys’ Life Magazine and The Literary Digest – and that’s a very partial list of his total work.
   
   
3. Norman [Censored] Rockwell is also the title of a song by artist Lana Del Rey. While it has nothing to do with Rockwell’s famous painting, it’s still an appropriate fact.
   
   
4. Bridge Game was first published for the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on May 15th, 1948.
   
   
5. Bridge Game was done with oil-on-canvas, for anyone wondering about Rockwell’s choice medium.
   
   
6. Mad Magazine has parodied many Rockwell depictions of popular culture, many of which might ring a bell for fans of the original magazine.
   
   
7. The painting is alternatively referred to as The Bid or as Playing Cards.
   
   
8. Rockwell did a total of 323 illustrations for the Post – and this one was numbered 254.
   
   
9. A follow-up article for the Saturday Evening Post published in October 2019 takes a closer look at the extended pop culture effect that Bridge Game might have had on people at the time – and explores the cards.
   
   
10. Today, the famous Bridge Game by Norman Rockwell is said to be in possession of a private art collector.