The Four Freedoms is a series of four 1943 oil paintings by the American artist Norman Rockwell. The paintings—Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear—are each approximately 45.75 inches (116.2 cm) × 35.5 inches (90 cm),[1] and are now in the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The four freedoms refer to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's January 1941 Four Freedoms State of the Union address in which he identified essential human rights that should be universally protected.[2][3] The theme was incorporated into the Atlantic Charter,[4][5] and became part of the charter of the United Nations.[6] The paintings were reproduced in The Saturday Evening Post for over four consecutive weeks in 1943, alongside essays by prominent thinkers of the day. They became the highlight of a touring exhibition sponsored by The Post and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The exhibition and accompanying sales drives of war bonds raised over $132 million.[7] This series has been the cornerstone of retrospective art exhibits presenting the career of Rockwell,[8][9] who was the most widely known and popular commercial artist of the mid-20th century, but did not achieve critical acclaim.[2][10] These are his best-known works,[3] and by some accounts became the most widely distributed paintings.[11] At one time they were commonly displayed in post offices, schools, clubs, railroad stations, and a variety of public and semi-public buildings.[11] Critical review of these images, like most of Rockwell's work, has not been entirely positive. Rockwell's idyllic and nostalgic approach to regionalism made him a popular illustrator but a lightly regarded fine artist during his lifetime,[8][12][13] a view still prevalent today. However, he has created an enduring niche in the social fabric with Freedom from Want, emblematic of what is now known as the "Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving".[2]
Freedom of Speech was the first of a series of four oil paintings, entitled Four Freedoms, painted by Norman Rockwell. The works were inspired by United States President, Franklin D. Roosevelt in a State of the Union Address, known as Four Freedoms, delivered to the 77th United States Congress on January 6, 1941.[1] Of the Four Freedoms, the only two described in the United States Constitution were freedom of speech and freedom of worship.[4] The Four Freedoms' theme was eventually incorporated into the Atlantic Charter,[5][6] and it became part of the charter of the United Nations.[1] The series of paintings ran in The Saturday Evening Post accompanied by essays from noted writers on four consecutive weeks: Freedom of Speech (February 20), Freedom of Worship (February 27), Freedom from Want (March 6) and Freedom from Fear (March 13). Eventually, the series became widely distributed in poster form and became instrumental in the U. S. Government War Bond Drive.
Freedom of Speech depicts a scene of a local town meeting in which Jim Edgerton, the lone dissenter to the town selectmen's announced plans to build a new school, was accorded the floor as a matter of protocol.[7] The old school had burned down.[8] Once he envisioned this scene to depict freedom of speech, Rockwell decided to use his Vermont neighbors as models for a Four Freedoms series.[9] The blue-collar speaker wears a plaid shirt and suede jacket. He has dirty hands and a darker complexion than others in attendance.[10] The other attendees are wearing white shirts, ties and jackets.[11] Although one of the men is wearing a wedding band, the speaker is not.[11] Edgerton's youth and workmanlike hands are fashioned with a worn and stained jacket, while the other attendees appear to be older and more neatly and formally dressed. He is shown "standing tall, his mouth open, his shining eyes transfixed, he speaks his mind, untrammeled and unafraid." Edgerton is depicted in a way that resembles Abraham Lincoln.[4] According to Bruce Cole of The Wall Street Journal, the closest figure in the painting is revealing a subject of the meeting as "a discussion of the town's annual report".[4] According to John Updike, the work is painted without any painterly brushwork.[12] According to Robert Scholes, the work shows audience members in rapt attention with a sort of admiration of this lone speaker.[13]
Freedom of Worship is the second of a series of four oil paintings by Norman Rockwell entitled Four Freedoms. The works were inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address delivered to the 77th United States Congress on January 6, 1941, known as Four Freedoms.[1] Of the Four Freedoms, the only two described in the United States Constitution are freedom of speech and freedom of religion.[2] The Four Freedoms' theme was later incorporated into the Allies' World War II policy statement, the Atlantic Charter,[3][4] and became part of the charter of the United Nations.[1] The series of paintings ran on four consecutive weeks in The Saturday Evening Post, accompanied by essays from noted writers: Freedom of Speech (February 20), Freedom of Worship (February 27), Freedom from Want (March 6) and Freedom from Fear (March 13).[5] For the essay accompanying Freedom of Worship, Post editor Ben Hibbs chose Durant, who was a best-selling author at the peak of his fame. At the time, Durant was in the midst of working on his ten-volume The Story of Civilization, coauthored with his wife, Ariel Durant. Will Durant also lectured on history and philosophy.[6] Eventually, the series of paintings became widely distributed in poster form and became instrumental in the U.S. Government War Bond Drive.[7][8][9]
The painting shows the profiles of eight heads in a modest space. The various figures represent people of different faiths in a moment of prayer. Particularly, three figures on the bottom row (right to left): a man with his head covered carrying a religious book who is Jewish, an older woman who is Protestant, and a younger woman with a well-lit face holding rosary beads who is Catholic.[10] In 1966, Rockwell used Freedom of Worship to show his admiration for John F. Kennedy in a Look story illustration entitled JFK's Bold Legacy. The work depicts Kennedy in profile in a composition similar to Freedom of Worship along with Peace Corps volunteers.[11]
Freedom from Want is the third in a series of four oil paintings entitled Four Freedoms by Norman Rockwell. They were inspired by Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, known as Four Freedoms, delivered to the 77th United States Congress on January 6, 1941.[2] In the early 1940s, Roosevelt's Four Freedoms themes were still vague and abstract to many, but the government used them to help boost patriotism.[3] The Four Freedoms' theme was eventually incorporated into the Atlantic Charter,[4][5] and it became part of the charter of the United Nations.[2] The series of paintings ran in The Saturday Evening Post accompanied by essays from noted writers on four consecutive weeks: Freedom of Speech (February 20), Freedom of Worship (February 27), Freedom from Want (March 6), and Freedom from Fear (March 13). Eventually, the series was widely distributed in poster form and became instrumental in the U.S. Government War Bond Drive.[6]
The illustration is an oil painting on canvas, measuring 45.75 by 35.5 inches (116.2 cm × 90.2 cm). The Norman Rockwell Museum describes it as a story illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, complementary to the theme,[7] but the image is also an autonomous visual expression.[8] The painting shows an aproned matriarch presenting a roasted turkey to a family of several generations,[9] in Rockwell's idealistic presentation of family values. The patriarch looks on with fondness and approval from the head of the table,[10] which is the central element of the painting. Its creased tablecloth shows that this is a special occasion for "sharing what we have with those we love", according to Lennie Bennett.[8] The table has a bowl of fruit, celery, pickles, and what appears to be cranberry sauce. There is a covered silver serving dish that would traditionally hold potatoes, according to Richard Halpern,[11] but Bennett describes this as a covered casserole dish.[8] The servings are less prominent than the presentation of white linen, white plates and water-filled glasses. The people in the painting are not yet eating, and the painting contrasts the empty plates and vacant space in their midst with images of overabundance.[12]
Freedom from Fear is the last of a series of four oil paintings entitled Four Freedoms, painted by Norman Rockwell. The works were inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a State of the Union Address delivered to the 77th United States Congress on January 6, 1941; the speech itself is often called the Four Freedoms.[1] The Four Freedoms theme was eventually incorporated into the Atlantic Charter,[2][3] and it became part of the charter of the United Nations.[1] The series of paintings was printed in The Saturday Evening Post, accompanied by essays from noted writers, on four consecutive weeks in early 1943: Freedom of Speech (February 20), Freedom of Worship (February 27), Freedom from Want (March 6) and Freedom from Fear (March 13). Eventually, the series was widely distributed in poster form and became instrumental in the U.S. Government's Second War Bond Drive. The Blitz was a period of sustained strategic bombing of the United Kingdom by Germany during the Second World War. Between 7 September 1940 and 21 May 1941, sixteen British cities were hit by major aerial raids. Beginning on 7 September 1940, London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 57 consecutive nights.[4] Overall, more than one million London houses were destroyed or damaged during the Blitz, and more than 40,000 civilians were killed, almost half of them in London.[5]
The painting shows children resting safely in their beds, oblivious to the perils of this world, as their parents look on. Their mother tucks them in while their father holds a newspaper describing the horrors of the ongoing conflict. However, his attention is fully on his children and not on the alarming headlines. According to another view, the children are already asleep, and their parents are checking on them in their shared narrow bed before they themselves turn in for the night. The father appears as the "classic Rockwell onlooker" who serves as a viewer within the painting. Since he is holding his glasses, we assume that he has finished reading the Bennington Banner in his hand. The newspaper's headline reads "Bombings Ki ... Horror Hit", referencing the Blitz.[6] In the background is a lit hallway and a stairway leading to the first floor.[6] According to Rockwell, who did not really care much for the work, the theme "was based on a rather smug idea. Painted during the bombing of London, it was supposed to say, 'Thank God we can put our children to bed with a feeling of security, knowing they will not be killed in the night.'"[7]