South River, New Jersey
South River is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 16,008,Norman Rockwell
Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...
. As a boy, Csatari had painstakingly recreated '' Saturday Evening Post'' covers that Rockwell had painted. In 1977, shortly before Rockwell died, Csatari was commissioned as the
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...
(BSA)'s official artist.
Early life and career
Csatari studied art at the Academy of Arts,
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Pratt Institute in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. In 1953, he became an artist in the layout division in BSA Supply Division's advertising department. In 1958, he became the art director; designing advertising and sales promotional pieces, cover illustrations, and posters. Like his mentor Rockwell, he also served as art director of ''
Boys' Life
''Scout Life'' (formerly ''Boys' Life'') is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Its target readers are boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 18. The magazine‘s headquarters are in Irving, Texas.
''Scout Life'' is pu ...
'' magazine at the beginning of his career, being named to that position in 1973. This was the time he worked closely with Rockwell. Csatari's job was to come up with possible themes for the paintings and make rough sketches for Rockwell. Once Rockwell decided on a concept, Csatari would gather models and shuttle them up for a photo shoot in the artist's studio in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Csatari often assisted Rockwell on his work at this time as by then Rockwell was aging. In 1976 when Rockwell retired from the calendar commission, the BSA asked Csatari to continue in the Rockwell tradition. Csatari says that while he paints in Rockwell's style, he is no Rockwell, whom he considers in another league.
Since the 1977 BSA calendar, Csatari has made 24 paintings for the Boy Scouts of America, including a painting commemorating the endowment program's 1910 Society. In 1997 an exhibit of these paintings toured the United States at fund-raising events in local councils throughout the country. Though it's not well known, Csatari also painted more than 10 official portraits of BSA presidents and Chief Scout Executives during his career. But it is his paintings of "Boy Scouts being Boy Scouts, having fun in the outdoors, and doing community service projects" that he finds most rewarding.
Csatari became a freelance artist in 1977 and has painted for many magazines and companies, as well as having painted designs for two U.S. postage stamps and several book covers. He lives in
South River, New Jersey
South River is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 16,008,"PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST" '' Asbury Park Press'', January 6, 2002. Accessed February 5, 2011. "Joe Csatari is in a reflective mood today. He relaxes in his home art studio in South River, a sunlit perch set among bare tree branches..." He has received several awards of excellence in Editorial Art Directing from the Society of Illustrators, New York.
In early June 2005, Csatari was awarded the BSA's highest honor, the
Silver Buffalo Award
The Silver Buffalo Award is the national-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America. It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on a national basis, either as part of, or independent of the Scouting pro ...
. In 2008, a twelve-city U.S. tour of
Norman Rockwell
Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...
's and Csatari's artworks was scheduled.
Critique of his work
Being an eager and willing disciple of Rockwell, Csatari is often viewed in the same manner, an illustrator, not an artist, who paints in overly sentimental tones when depicting people and Americana. Csatari does not mind these comparisons and critiques, nor did Rockwell. Csatari's paintings of nature are quite accurate and detailed.