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==Exhibitions== |
==Exhibitions== |
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The ''Four Freedoms'' were widely exhibited as part of the Second War Loan Drive in 1943.<ref name=MAMPFAIRaHfFEiNH/> They were a highlight of the first comprehensive Rockwell touring exhibition, entitled ''Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People''.<ref name=TW/><ref name=NRR/> They returned to the [[Corcoran Gallery of Art]], which had been part of the Pictures for the American People tour, for an exhibition in association with the [[National World War II Memorial]] grand opening in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E1DE1630F93BA15750C0A9629C8B63&scp=6&sq=%22Four+Freedoms%22+Rockwell&st=nyt|title= TRAVEL ADVISORY; A Monument Rises on the Mall|accessdate=2008-04-08|date=[[2004-03-28]]|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Vangelova, Luba}}</ref> |
The ''Four Freedoms'' were widely exhibited as part of the Second War Loan Drive in 1943.<ref name=MAMPFAIRaHfFEiNH/> They were a highlight of the first comprehensive Rockwell touring exhibition, entitled ''Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People''.<ref name=TW/><ref name=NRR/> They returned to the [[Corcoran Gallery of Art]], which had been part of the Pictures for the American People tour, for an exhibition in association with the [[National World War II Memorial]] grand opening in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E1DE1630F93BA15750C0A9629C8B63&scp=6&sq=%22Four+Freedoms%22+Rockwell&st=nyt|title= TRAVEL ADVISORY; A Monument Rises on the Mall|accessdate=2008-04-08|date=[[2004-03-28]]|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Vangelova, Luba}}</ref> |
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In addition to being included in various tours, the ''Four Freedoms'' were the subject of a 144-page book in 1993, the fiftieth anniversary of their production. The book, is very detailed account starting with Rooosevelt's inspiration, details of the publication, details of the tour, which began at [[Hecht's Department Store]] in {{city-state|Washington|DC}} with [[Supreme Court Associate Justice]] [[[William O. Douglas]] speaking, various appendices, the four essays (by [[Booth Tarkington]], [[Will Durant]], [[Carlos Bulosan]], and [[Stephen Vincent Benet]]) that accompanied the original publication, the essay that accompanied the government printing, original essays for the book. According to the [[Amazon.com]] review.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amazon.com/Norman-Rockwells-Four-Freedoms-Inspire/dp/0936399422|title=Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms: Images That Inspire a Nation|accessdate=2008-04-11|publisher=[[Amazon.com, Inc.]]|date=2008}}</ref> |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
Revision as of 08:19, 11 April 2008
Template:Infobox Awards
The Four Freedoms or Four Essential Human Freedoms is a series of oil paintings produced in 1943 by Norman Rockwell. The paintings are approximately equal in dimension with measurements of 45.75 inches (116.2 cm) × 35.5 inches (90 cm).[1] The series, now in the Norman Rockwell Museum, were made for reproduction in The Saturday Evening Post over the course of four consecutive weeks in 1943 alongside essays by prominent thinkers of the day. Later they were the highlight of a touring exhibition sponsored by the Saturday Evening Post and the United States Department of the Treasury. The touring exhibition and accompanying sales drives raised over US$132 million in the sale of war bonds.[2] This series is considered a cornerstone of a retrospective of the career of Rockwell,[3][4] who was the most widely known contemporary artist of the mid 20th century, but who failed to achieve critical acclaim commensurate with his popularity.[5]
The Four Freedoms theme was derived from the 1941 State of the Union Address by United States President Franklin Roosevelt delivered to the 77th United States Congress on January 61941.[6] The theme was incorporated into the Atlantic Charter,[7] and it became part of the charter of the United Nations.[8] Roosevelt's message was as follows
We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.[6]
Rockwell and WWII
From 1916 through his Kennedy Memorial cover on December 161963,[9] Rockwell created 321 magazine covers for The Saturday Evening Post,[10] which was the most popular American magazine of the first half of the 20th century.[11] In an preelectronic era where mass production magazine color illustration was the most popular form of media, Rockwell made a name for himself and became a national name who by the 1950s was rivaled only by Walt Disney for his familiarity with the public among visual artists.[12] Rockwell illustrated American life during World War I and World War II in 34 of his cover illustrations,[13] and he illustrated 33 Post covers during World War II.[10] During much of the first half of the 1940s, Rockwell's cover illustrations focused on the human side of the war.[9] Rockwell encouraged support of the war efforts during World War II via his covers which endorsed war bonds, encouraged women to work, and encouraged men to enlist in the service. His World War II illustrations used themes of patriotism, longing, shifting gender roles, reunion, love, work, community and family during wartime to promote the war.[13] In his role as a magazine illustrator during times of war, Rockwell draws comparisons to Winslow Homer, an American Civil War illustrator for Harper's Weekly.[14] Rockwell's artistic expressions were said to have led to the adoption of the goal of the Four Freedoms in keeping with United States President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address.[15][16]
Rockwell made numerous artistic contributions to the war efforts. He is widely known for his idealized fictional wartime characters Willie Gillis and his depiction of Rosie the Riveter and some of his other war art is known by name such as War News and Homecoming Soldier.[17] He is responsible for encouraging individual monetary support of the war through emotional posters like Hasten the Homecoming, 1943.[18]
Production
In 1942 Rockwell envisioned an inspirational set of posters depicting the themes laid out by Roosevelt the previous year. The intention was to remind America what they were fighting for: freedom of speech and worship, freedom from want and fear. Rockwell's patriotic gesture was to travel to Template:City-state and volunteer his free services to the government for this cause. As Rockwell bounced from one government office to the next he received no indication of interest by the government. In fact, the Office of War Information told him that poster art like that used in World War I was not welcome because the government intended to use real artists instead this time. Rockwell returned to the Saturday Evening Post and got his designs published. Only after the public got caught up in the idea did the Office of War Information get involved by producing 2.5 million sets of Four Freedoms posters.[19][20] In all, 25 million people bought Rockwell's Four Freedoms prints.[21]
The Four Freedoms took Rockwell seven months to create.[20] An Template:City-state Rockwell neighbor Carl Hess stood for the shy, brave young workman of Freedom of Speech. Other models included a Mrs. Harrington who became the devout old woman in Freedom of Worship and a man named Jim Martin who appears in each painting in the series.[20]
Between 1941 and 1946, the United States Department of the Treasury conducted eight War Loan Drives to promote the sale of war Bonds to finance America's World War II efforts. In 1943, the Saturday Evening Post donated the Four Freedoms to the Second War Loan Drive.[22] Rockwell's Four Freedoms Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear were first published in February 20, February 27, March 6 and March 13 1943 along with commissioned essays from leading American writers and historians. They measured 45.75 inches (116.2 cm) × 35.5 inches (90 cm) except Freedom to Worship which measures 46 inches (116.8 cm) × 35.5 inches (90 cm).[1] During the subsequent tour, approximately 1.2 million people throughout the United States viewed the paintings, which helped to raise $132 million for the war effort though the sale of war bonds. According to The New Yorker in 1945, the Four Freedoms "were received by the public with more enthusiasm, perhaps, than any other paintings in the history of American art."[17]
The Four Freedoms were reproduced in posters by the United States Government Printing Office and on postage stamps by the United States Postal Service.[6] The stamps are not to be confused with the February 121943 one cent Four Freedoms Postage Stamp Issue.[23] The Rockwell versions were issued in a set of four fifty cent stamps in 1994, the 100th anniversary of Rockwell's birth.[24]
Critical review
Rockwell is considered the "quintessential middlebrow American artist."[25] As an artist he is an illustrator rather than a fine arts painter. Although his style is painterly, his work is produced for the purpose of mass reproduction, and it is produced with the intent of delivering a common message to its viewers via a detailed narrative style.[21][3] Furthermore, the vast majority of Rockwell's work was viewed in reproduced format and almost none of his contemporaneous audience ever saw his original work.[12][3] Also, Rockwell style of backwoods New England small-town realism was sometimes viewed as out of step with the oncoming wave of abstract modern art. Some say his realism is so direct that he abstains from using artistic license. In short, because he did nothing interesting, thought-provoking, rare or cutting-edge he was no Rembrandt.[21] Some also view his sentimental and nostalgic vision out of step with the harsh realities of American life, such as The Great Depression.[3] Some have summarized this combination by saying that Rockwell's Four Freedoms lack artistic maturity. Others point to the universality of the Freedom of Religion as disconcerting to practitioners of particular faiths.[20] By depicting wholesome, healthy, and happy sentiments Rockwell depicted the good that was remembered or wished for, but by avoiding misery, poverty, and social unrest, he failed to demonstrate command of the bad and the ugly parts of American life.[3] Rockwells response to this criticism was:
I paint life as I would like it to be. - Rockwell[3]
Although all four images were intended to promote patriotism in a time of war, Freedom from Want, which depicts an elderly couple serving a fat turkey to what looks like a table of happy and eager children and grandchildren has given the idealized Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving work as important a place in the enduring marketplace of promoting family togetherness, peace and plenty as Hallmark at Christmas.[6] Rockwell
The commercial success of the series is in part due to the fact that each painting is considered so understandable that they were viewed by their generation as the model of understandable art by the general public.[26] This understandability made it one extreme on the scale of artistic complexity when comparing the series to contemporaneous art. It was diametrically opposed to the abstract art and far removed from the intrigue of surrealism.[27]
Although there has been a long history of Rockwell detractors, during the Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People attendance was record-setting and critical reviews were quite favorable. The nostalgia seemed to cause a bit of revisionism in the artworld.[28]
Provenance
Norman Rockwell, who would live until 1978, bequeathed his personal collection in trust to the Norman Rockwell Museum in 1973 for the "advancement of art appreciation and art education." This collection included the Four Freedoms.[29] In 1993, when the Rockwell Museum moved from its original location, the Four Freedoms were displayed in the new museum's central gallery.[30] The Four Freedoms remain in the collection of the Museum.[29]
Exhibitions
The Four Freedoms were widely exhibited as part of the Second War Loan Drive in 1943.[17] They were a highlight of the first comprehensive Rockwell touring exhibition, entitled Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People.[4][21] They returned to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, which had been part of the Pictures for the American People tour, for an exhibition in association with the National World War II Memorial grand opening in 2004.[31]
In addition to being included in various tours, the Four Freedoms were the subject of a 144-page book in 1993, the fiftieth anniversary of their production. The book, is very detailed account starting with Rooosevelt's inspiration, details of the publication, details of the tour, which began at Hecht's Department Store in Template:City-state with Supreme Court Associate Justice [[[William O. Douglas]] speaking, various appendices, the four essays (by Booth Tarkington, Will Durant, Carlos Bulosan, and Stephen Vincent Benet) that accompanied the original publication, the essay that accompanied the government printing, original essays for the book. According to the Amazon.com review.[32]
Notes
- ^ a b "Rockwell, Norman: Freedom from Want". artchive.com. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
"Rockwell, Norman: Freedom from Fear". artchive.com. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
"Rockwell, Norman: Freedom to Worship". artchive.com. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
"Rockwell, Norman: Freedom of Speech". artchive.com. Retrieved 2008-04-10. - ^ "Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People". Traditional Fine Art Online, Inc/Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ a b c d e f Wright, Tricia (2007). "The Depression and World War II". Americn Art and Artists. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 122–123. ISBN 978-0-06-089124-4.
- ^ a b Van Gelder, Lawrence (2000-06-12). "This Week". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Collins, Judith, John Welchman, David Chandler, and David A. Anfam (1983). "1941-1960". Techniques of Modern Art. Chartwell Books Inc. p. 115. ISBN 0-89009-673-2.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d Rosenkrantz, Linda (2006-11-13). "A Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving". Canton Repository. The Repository. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help) - ^ "Norman Rockwell". Encarta. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "100 Documents That Shaped America:President Franklin Roosevelt's Annual Message (Four Freedoms) to Congress (1941)". U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News & World Report, L.P. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
- ^ a b "Norman Rockwell Magazine Covers Complete List - Part Six: 1940 to 1980". Best Norman Rockwell Art.com. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
- ^ a b "Cover Story -- Norman Rockwell's America". Traditional Fine Art Online, Inc. 2003-07-04. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- ^ "Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People". Traditional Fine Art Online, Inc/High Art Museum. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ a b Hughes, Robert (1997). "The Empire of Signs". American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America. Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 508–509. ISBN 0-679-42627-2.
- ^ a b "NORMAN ROCKWELL'S WARTIME COVERS" (Press release) (in English). Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
{{cite press release}}
: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ Boucher, Justin M. "American Genre Painting in the Nineteenth Century: Teaching Artistic Interpretation as a Tool for Critically Viewing History". the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
- ^ Cutler, Judy A. G. "Norman Rockwell: A Star on Our Flag". Retrieved 2008-04-11.
- ^ "Saturday Evening Post". Retrieved 2008-04-05.
- ^ a b c "Michener Art Museum Pairs Famed American Illustrators Rockwell and Hargens for Fall Exhibitions in New Hope" (Press release) (in English). The James A. Michener Art Museum. 2007-08-08. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
{{cite press release}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "Sustaining Vision". The Story of America: Over 150 Momentous Events Depicted in Great American Art. Country Beautiful Corporation. 1976. pp. 178–179. ISBN 0-87294-047-0.
- ^ Marling, Karal Ann (2001-10-14). "ART/ARCHITECTURE; Salve for a Wounded People". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help) - ^ a b c d "I Like To Please People". Time magazine. Time Inc. 1943-06-21. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help) - ^ a b c d Plagens, Peter (1999-11-15). "Norman Rockwell Revisited". Newsweek magazine. Newsweek, Inc. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help) - ^ "Rockwell's Rosie the Riveter Painting Auctioned". Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ "United States Postage Stamps: 1847 through 1947 ~ The first 100 years". JUNIOR PHILATELISTS ON THE INTERNET. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ "Norman Rockwell. United States, 1994". The Collectible Stamps Gallery. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ Kelly, Michael (1992-07-12). "The Candidates as Culture Vultures". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
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(help) - ^ "Docents' Duties". Time magazine. Time Inc. 1948-06-28. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
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(help) - ^ "The U.S. & the United Nations". Time magazine. Time Inc. 1945-06-04. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Green, Penelope (2001-10-28). "MIRROR, MIRROR; Rockwell, Irony-Free". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
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(help) - ^ a b "Collections". Norman Rockwell Museum. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
- ^ Grimes, William (1993-06-13). "On Picture-Perfect Day, a Norman Rockwell Museum Opens". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Vangelova, Luba (2004-03-28). "TRAVEL ADVISORY; A Monument Rises on the Mall". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms: Images That Inspire a Nation". Amazon.com, Inc. 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-11.