"Four Freedoms"

1941

Taken from Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 speech to Congress, the "Four Freedoms" --Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear--became a rallying point for the United States during WWII. Artist Norman Rockwell created four vignettes to illustrate the concepts. Rockwell intended to donate the paintings to the War Department, but after receiving no response, the painter offered them to the Saturday Evening Post, where they were first published on February 20, 1943. Popular reaction was overwhelming, and more than 25,000 readers requested full-color reproductions suitable for framing.