Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Freedom from Fear, 1943. Oil on canvas, 45 3/4″ X 35 1/2″. Story illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, March 13, 1943. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©SEPS: Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN.
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Bloodless wars for hearts and minds takes place on a battlefield of perception. The weaponry is paper. The ammunition are posters, magazines and printed graphic design. This talk will address the power of propaganda, the concerted effort to manipulate the conscious and subconscious through words and pictures – typography and illustration.
Steven Heller has written extensively on design/illustration and Fascism, notably The Swastika and Symbols of Hate: Extremist Iconography Today, a nuanced and comprehensive examination of the most powerful symbol ever created.
About the Symposium:
For designers, cartoonists, and illustrators, many questions arise when creating art that takes up socially significant, sometimes controversial themes. Some choose the D.I.Y. route, working independently with a free hand, without access to the large scale distribution that comes with a recognizable masthead. Others work with leading news organizations and magazines, agreeing to collaborate in exchange for access to audiences. Popular art has always involved such choices. What are the tradeoffs? What are the rewards?
This program is supported in part by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
Media Sponsor:
This timely symposium will explore historical and contemporary notions of freedom as well as the role of illustration as a force in shaping public perception. How has published imagery affected decision-making, public policy, and cultural understanding? Prominent authors, illustrators, and scholars will offer perspectives. Share your observations by participating in all or some of these compelling conversations.
Stockbridge, Mass.—February 22, 2024—Norman Rockwell Museum announces the launch of Imagining Freedom, an interactive virtual exhibition that explores the history, artistic interpretations, and contemporary resonance of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s concept of four basic human rights, the Four Freedoms. The exhibition highlights the important role of Norman Rockwell and other artists in advancing and communicating these ideals, envisioned as core human rights for all people. The launch of this new virtual exhibition coincides with the 80th anniversary of the publication of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms portrayals in The Saturday Evening Post.
Old Mill Road Media, the publisher of BERKSHIRE Magazine, is thrilled to announce its first annual CREATE 4 FREEDOMS Essay & Poetry Contest, co-sponsored by Arcadia Publishing and the Norman Rockwell Museum.
Freedom of Speech. Freedom of Worship. Freedom from Want. Freedom from Fear. Those four Freedoms were outlined as essential human […]
Returning to Stockbridge following a six city tour that has taken Rockwell’s art and the work of other creators to New York, Detroit, Washington DC, Normandy, France, Houston, and Denver, Norman Rockwell: Imagining Freedom explores the indelible odyssey of the Four Freedoms, humanity’s greatest and sometimes most elusive ideals.
Norman Rockwell Museum will celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms with the musical performance Paintings in Song, to be held at the Museum on Saturday, November 24, starting at 5:30 p.m. Inspired by Norman Rockwell’s art, Paintings in Song is being performed by choral ensemble Crescendo, led by artistic director Christine Gevert and Berkshire-based composer John Myers.
ANNIVERSARY TALK
Rockwell, Roosevelt and the Four Freedoms
Sunday, January 6
1:30 p.m.
On January 6, 1941, in his Annual Address to Congress, President Franklin D. Roosevelt argued that Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear should be accepted as human rights not only in the United States, but across the world. On this 78th anniversary of Roosevelt’s Address, Curator of Education Tom Daly will explore the transformation of those Four Freedoms from […]
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms paintings, Norman Rockwell Museum will host a special Four Freedoms Festival Day on Saturday, September 8, from 1 to 4 p.m. The celebration will include related talks, tours, and performances.
To help launch Norman Rockwell Museum's upcoming traveling exhibition, "Rockwell, Roosevelt & The Four Freedoms," Turner Classic Movies will be presenting a night of movies related to the subject on Monday, May 21.
TCM is pleased to present an evening hosted by Harvey J. Kaye, author of The Fight for the Four Freedoms: What Made FDR and the Greatest Generation Truly Great, published by Simon & Schuster in 2014. Kaye will present five films that illustrate the inspiration of his book: the “Four Freedoms” named as America’s goals by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his 1941 State of the Union address. These include freedom of speech and worship, and […]
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms, Norman Rockwell Museum is once again teaming up with New York’s Capital Area Art Supervisors to present an exhibition of student artwork, exploring what freedom means for a new generation. Reimagining The Four Freedoms is on view at the Museum from March 16 through April 8, 2018.
On January 6, 1941, 77 years ago tomorrow, President Franklin Roosevelt (pictured above in 1934) proclaimed the need to defend four essential freedoms—Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear—as a reason for the U.S. to enter World War II. Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms, a major exhibition organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum and opening at the New-York Historical Society on May 25, 2018, tells the story of how the Four Freedoms, as expressed by Rockwell, brought the country together in defense of universal human rights. It is a story for our time.
On this 75th anniversary of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms paintings, published by The Saturday Evening Post in February and March 1943, Chief Curator Stephanie Plunkett and Curator of Education Tom Daly will explore the transformation of those Four Freedoms from abstract words into concrete images and from an optimistic rhetorical concept into a living statement of human rights and dignity.
For the second year, Norman Rockwell Museum is teaming up with New York’s Capital Area Art Supervisors to present a unique exhibition of student artwork exploring what freedom means in the 21st century—Reimagining The Four Freedoms is on view at Norman Rockwell Museum from March 18 through April 9, 2017.
Norman Rockwell Museum calls on artists working in all media to reimagine the four essential freedoms enunciated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear, and to consider their relevance today.
During World War II, the U.S. government opened ten concentration camps to incarcerate 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who had been forcibly removed from the West Coast. In 2015, Setsuko Sato Winchester, a Japanese-American, former NPR journalist, and ceramicist, began a journey to visit all the remains of these camps, most of them now in desolate ruins.
Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms is the first comprehensive traveling exhibition devoted to Norman Rockwell’s iconic depictions of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear.
An analysis of the images Rockwell painted to describe Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms”, and a brief history of the impact these paintings had on America.
Tell the class about the speech Roosevelt made during WWII in which he described four freedoms — freedom of speech, freedom from want, freedom to worship, and freedom from fear. His point was that these freedoms should […]
Discuss personal freedom as you explore Rockwell’s “Four Freedoms.”
In January 1941 President Roosevelt, shared with congress his vision for a postwar world founded on four fundamental human freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Inspired by his words, Rockwell created “Four Freedoms.” Originally published in the Post the paintings were a huge success and were later used to sell war bonds and stamps. The […]
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s "Four Freedoms" speech, Norman Rockwell Museum is teaming up with New York’s Capital Area Art Supervisors to present a unique exhibition that looks at the concept of the four freedoms, famously painted by artist Norman Rockwell, from the perspective of a new generation. "Reimagining The Four Freedoms" is on view at the Museum from March 11 through April 3, 2016.
In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of The Four Freedoms, Norman Rockwell Museum will present an afternoon talk and performance on Wednesday, January 6, that pays tribute to President Roosevelt’s speech and Rockwell’s paintings, which are on view and part of the Museum’s permanent collection. Starting at 1 p.m., join members of the Berkshire Music School for a performance of patriotic music from the World War II era. Following the music, the Museum’s Curator of Education Tom Daly will offer historical insight into both Roosevelt’s words and Rockwell’s paintings. The event is free with regular Museum admission.
Four Freedoms Forums
This engaging Town Hall-style conversation, inspired by Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms paintings, will explore current challenges to our environment, their effect on our health, and ways in which information is disseminated. Do we understand what’s truly at risk? Expert commentators will offer observations and inspire community discourse. Refreshments and a reception […]
Norman Rockwell Museum’s Four Freedoms Forums series of town hall meetings returns on Thursday, April 25, starting at 5:30 p.m., with a look at the topic of gun violence. The forum will address the role of guns in our society, including gun rights and gun control. Featured speakers will include Richard B. Wilcox, Chief of Police, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Community conversation at the Four Freedoms Forums is free and open to the public.
Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), “Freedom of Speech,” 1943. Illustration for “The Saturday Evening Post”, February 20, 1943. From the collection of Norman Rockwell Museum. © 1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN. All rights reserved.
In his January 1941 address to Congress, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt articulated his vision for a postwar world founded on four basic human freedoms: […]
On January 6, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered a speech before Congress, articulating his vision for a postwar world founded on four basic human freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. The groundbreaking speech also caught the attention of Norman Rockwell, who began working on an iconic series of illustrations depicting each of the freedoms President Roosevelt had outlined in his speech. On Wednesday, October 24 (United Nations Day), another tribute, The Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, will open on Roosevelt Island in New York City, as a lasting memorial to the President and his ideals that inspired a nation.
To protect the original Four Freedoms paintings from UV exposure, dust, grime, and an adoring public, the Museum sent the four oil paintings to Williamstown Art Conservation Center last year to be glazed with Tru Vue Optium Museum Acrylic. The glazing project was supported by a grant from the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation, which was generously matched by a private donor.
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), “Freedom of Speech,” 1943. Oil on canvas, 45 3/4″ x 35 1/2″. Story illustration for “The Saturday Evening Post,” February 20, 1943. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©SEPS: Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN.
In his January 1941 address to Congress, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt articulated his vision for a postwar world founded on four basic human freedoms: freedom of […]
2011 marks the 70th anniversary of President Roosevelt’s historic Four Freedoms speech, which later inspired Norman Rockwell's painting of the same name. Celebrations are being held around the world to mark the occasion. In January, the Embassy of the United States in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, announced the winners of an art competition where artists were invited to express their own interpretations of the four freedoms. A panel of judges selected four winning art works for awards, depicting each of the four freedoms. Enjoy a slideshow of all entries from the art competition.
“Freedom of Speech,” Norman Rockwell, 1943. Story illustration for “The Saturday Evening Post,” […]
Sustainable/Renewable Energy Thursday, May 5, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Norman Rockwell Museum's Four Freedoms Forum series returns with a community dialogue about the timely topic of renewable and sustainable energy. Inspired by Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms, community conversation at the Four Freedoms Forums is free and open to the public.
