As the labor force shifted from agriculture to indoor employment, American Optical developed vision technologies to address “four o’clock eye fatigue.” The company’s Tillyer lenses were the most important eyesight correction innovation of the 1930s, drawing on advanced mathematics to optimize vision in all parts of the lens.

To help promote the Tillyer lens, AO engaged the services of the most famous American illustrator of the 20th century, Norman Rockwell. The company eventually commissioned six works from Rockwell for use in advertisements that both raised consumer awareness and promoted sales of premium eyewear.

These illustrations are now considered as major works by the artist — one of the AO paintings recently sold at auction by Sotheby’s for $1.3 million. But few of Rockwell’s admirers know that these striking images also played a part in the history of American vision care.

In subsequent years, other technology innovations brought with them new risks to eye health. The fluorescent lights that first started showing up in workplaces in the 1930s caused headaches, squinting and eyestrain. Fluorescent lights also emit UV, and even an exposure of an hour per day can exceed recommended levels.

At a point when most people were unaware of this risk, American Optical developed lens treatments to block UV, and launched publicity campaigns to educate workers on the risks to their eye health.

The US government added to eye fatigue with its 1943 program to reduce publishers’ use of paper by 10%. Many newspapers and periodicals responded by using smaller fonts. American Optical again played a key role in the campaign —both alerting eyecare professionals and offering the best available technologies to reduce the burden on the public’s vision.