Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms to Tour in Major International Exhibition

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Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms to Tour in Major International Exhibition

STOCKBRIDGE, Massachusetts
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February 05, 2017

Freedom of Speech, Norman Rockwell. 1943. Oil on canvas, 45 ¾” x 35 ½” Story illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, February 20, 1943 From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum ©1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN

Freedom of Worship, Norman Rockwell. 1943. Oil on canvas, 46” x 35 ½” Story illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, February 27, 1943 From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum ©1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN

Coming in 2018, 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. It illuminates both the historic context in which FDR articulated the Four Freedoms and the role of Rockwell’s paintings in bringing them to life for millions of people, rallying the public behind the War effort and changing the tenor of the times.

In telling the story of how Rockwell’s works were transformed from a series of paintings into a national movement, the exhibition also demonstrates the power of illustration to communicate ideas and inspire change.

In addition to his celebrated paintings of the Four Freedoms, the exhibition brings together numerous other examples of painting, illustration, and more, by both Rockwell and a broad range of his contemporaries—from J.C. Leyendecker and Mead Schaeffer, to Ben Shahn, Dorothea Lange, and Gordon Parks, among others—as well as historical documents, photographs, videos, and artifacts; interactive digital displays; and immersive settings. While exploring the response of an earlier generation to the plea for defense of universal freedoms, the exhibition also resonates with our own time.

Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms and its international tour are organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA. The exhibition is co-curated by Stephanie Plunkett, Deputy Director/Chief Curator, Norman Rockwell Museum, and James Kimble, Associate Professor of Communication, Seton Hall University.

There is also a call to artists for a reimagined Four Freedoms to tour in the exhibition.

EXHIBITION TOUR TO DATE

New-York Historical Society
New York, NY
June – August 2018

The Henry Ford Museum
Dearborn, MI
October – December 2018

Venue announcement pending
Washington, DC
February – April 2019

Norman Rockwell Museum
Stockbridge, MA
June – August 2019

National Constitution Center
Philadelphia, PA
October – December 2019

Museum of Fine Arts
Houston, TX
February – April 2020