Freedom from Fear (painting): Difference between revisions
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==Themes== |
==Themes== |
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According to Rockwell, who did care for the work much, the works theme "was based on a rather smug idea. Painted during the bombing of London, it was suppose to say, 'Thank God we can put our children to bed with a feeling of security, knowing they will be killed in the night'". |
According to Rockwell, who did care for the work much, the works theme "was based on a rather smug idea. Painted during the bombing of London, it was suppose 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'". |
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==Production== |
==Production== |
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Revision as of 17:39, 31 December 2013
Freedom from Fear is the last of the Four Freedoms paintings by Norman Rockwell that was inspired by the Four Freedoms United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the State of the Union Address he delivered on January 6, 1941.
Freedom from Fear was published in the March 13, 1943 Issue of The Saturday Evening Post with a matching essay by Stephen Vincent Benét as part of the Four Freedoms series. The painting generally described as depicting American children being tucked in by their parents at the time of the The Blitz.
Background
Freedom from Fear is the third 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] The Four Freedoms' theme was eventually incorporated into the Atlantic Charter,[2] 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.
Description
The painting shows children resting safely in their beds, not knowing about the perils of this world, as their parents look on. The mother is tucking them in while the father holds a newspaper describing the horrors of war, but his attention is fully on his children and not the alarming stories.
Although the painting is generally described as depicting American children being tucked in by their parents the kids are already asleep. The parents are checking in on them in their shared narrow bed before they, themselves turn in for the night. The mother is seen adjusting the bedsheet. The father appears as the "classic Rockwell onlooker" who serves as a viewer within the painting. Since he is holding his glasses, we assume he has finished reading the Bennington Banner in his hand. The newspaper's headline reads "Bombings Ki...Horror Hit", referencing the Blitz.[3] In the background, is a lit hallway and a stairway connecting it to the first floor.[3]
Themes
According to Rockwell, who did care for the work much, the works theme "was based on a rather smug idea. Painted during the bombing of London, it was suppose 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'".
Production
The models for the work were Jim Martin, Mrs. Edgar Lawrence (Dorothy),[4] and two children of Rockwell's carpenter Walt Squires, all Arlington, Vermont neighbors of Rockwell.[5] At Rockwell's request, the Bennington Banner produced a dummy edition to use for this work.[4]
Freedom from Fear was published in the March 13, 1943 Issue of The Saturday Evening Post with a matching essay by Stephen Vincent Benét as part of the Four Freedoms series.[6] Ironically, the day it was published, poet, novelist, and short-story writer Benét passed away.[7]
History
"The fourth is freedom from fear—which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor—anywhere in the world."
The United States Government shortly later asked for, and received, permission from Norman Rockwell to allow his Four Freedoms paintings to be used in four different war-time posters during World War II to help motivate the civilian workforce. The United States Government Printing Office printed the posters in at least three sizes: 20 × 28, 28 × 40, and 40 × 56 inches.
The United States Department of the Treasury toured Rockwell's Four Freedoms paintings around the country after their publication in 1943. The Four Freedoms Tour raised over $130,000,000 in war bond sales.
Rockwell's Four Freedoms paintings were also reproduced as postage stamps by the United States Post Office.
This painting is the only one of the Four Freedoms that was not newly created. It had actually been created to depict the Battle of Britain and had gone unpublished by The Saturday Evening Post.[8]
Critical review
The scene has been described as overly intimate. Both the arrangement of the furniture and the lighting contribute to this intimacy.[8] Deborah Solomon describes the scene as having "some of the feeling of a French interior, with lovely haut-art touches.[3] Bruce Cole of The Wall Street Journal stated "This reference to the war is so specific that it conveys little about fear or Roosevelt's plan for universal disarmament. Rockwell just could not get his hands around these airy abstractions."[9]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ "Norman Rockwell". Encarta. Microsoft Corporation. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Solomon, p. 210.
- ^ a b Murray and McCabe
- ^ Meyer, p. 133.
- ^ "Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms: Images That Inspire a Nation". Amazon.com, Inc. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
- ^ Murray and McCabe, p. 62.
- ^ a b Hennessey and Knutson, p. 102
- ^ Cole, Bruce (2009-10-10). "Free Speech Personified: Norman Rockwell's inspiring and enduring painting". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2013-12-31.
References
- Hennessey, Maureen Hart and Anne Knutson (1999). "The Four Freedoms". Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. with High Museum of Art and Norman Rockwell Museum. pp. 94–102. ISBN 0-8109-6392-2.
- Meyer, Susan E. (1981). Norman Rockwell's People. Harry N. Abrams. pp. 128–133. ISBN 0-8109-1777-7.
- Solomon, Deborah (2013). "Fifteen: The Four Freedoms (May 1942 to May 1943)". American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 201–220. ISBN 978-0374113094.
External links
- Full text and audio of the Four Freedoms speech. An excerpt of the Four Freedoms section is also available.
- Full text of the Four Freedoms speech.