Thanksgiving: Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell was a well known American illustrated. He painted numerous Thanksgiving paintings. The most acclaimed Thanksgiving illustrations he created are The Four Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom From Want, and Freedom From Fear. Rockwell desired to do something patriotic concerning World War II and couldn't serve in the armed forces because of his age. He was enkindled to create these paintings because of President Franklin Roosevelt's speech also called The Four Freedoms. The President said these were the principles for universal rights.

These paintings were published by the Saturday Evening Post on 02/20/43, 02/27/43, 03/06/43, and 03/13/43 respectively. Each print of a painting in the magazine had an attendant essay. The author's of these essays in order were: Booth Tarkington, Will Durant, Carlos Bulosan, and Stephen Vincent Benét.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury urged the sale of war bonds by showing originals of The Four Freedoms in many U.S. cities. The title of this exhibition was The Four Freedoms War Bond Show. This tour began at Hecht's, which was located in Washington, D.C., where it was transmitted over radio; Lowell Thomas was the broadcaster. Justice William O. Douglas of the Supreme Court was the principal speaker.

The publics response was astounding and proved that the paintings stimulated the feelings of the American people about freedom. This reaction encouraged The Office of War Information to see the effect of the paintings in conveying ideas and emotions concerning freedom. The public wrote 60,000 letters to the artist, which included a letter from the President. Over a million people saw the paintings during the tour. The war years were reduced by the numerous amount of war bonds sold during this tour.

Thus, though they had originally rejected these art works, OWI then had 2.5 million copies printed. The copies were all attended by an essay from The Office of War Information.

Norman Rockwell The Four Freedoms 750pc Panoramic Puzzle The Saturday Evening Post-1943
Freedom of Speech by Norman Rockwell Art Print(1938 / 1978) , 8.3/4 X 11.1/4 inches
2008 Topps American Heritage Baseball Cards # 66 Norman Rockwell ( Four Freedoms )( Artist ) Trading Card in Protective Screw Down Display

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