Rockwell was a very interesting man and an excellent artist. He called himself an illustrator and was the target of much crap from the art establishment.
Rockwell stuck his finger in their eyes by putting much in his illustrations that came from classical 'fine' art. Rosie the Riveter is the first one that comes to mind. It is an artistic satire on another famous work of art - which I cannot think of right now, of course. His self-portrait was another 'joke' he played on the establishment. It is filled with illusions to earlier 'art' works.
I'm laughing because I got a reply to something I posted on 4/6/06, and I honestly thought, "I'm losing it! I don't even remember posting on Rockwell lately." LOL But your information is fascinating. I never knew Rockwell used classical references in his own work. I wish you could remember which classic Rosie the Riveter was patterned after. I can't even begin to think of one, but I'm sure you're right.