Thomas Fogarty (1873-1938) was an influential instructor at the Art Students League from 1905-1922. He emphasized authenticity to his students, including Norman Rockwell, by encouraging them to research details and develop backstories for their characters. He urged his students to "step over the frame and live in the picture," Rockwell stated; "If the author [of a story] sat a character in a Windsor chair, the chair in the illustration had to be just that, even if it meant we all had to go up to the Metropolitan Museum to find out what a Windsor chair looked like."
Fogarty encouraged painting that would resonate with the audience, described by Rockwell as "Painting a picture's like throwing a ball against a wall. Throw it hard, ball comes back hard. Feel a picture hard, public feels it the same way."
In his mentor's portrait, the admiration Rockwell had for his teacher is evident, as are Fogarty's lessons of authenticity and emotional impact in his work.
Source: Illustration History, Norman Rockwell Museum, https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/thomas-fogarty
