Norman Rockwell's “Four Freedoms”

New to our Colorado Springs gallery are all four of the iconic 1943 “Four Freedoms” War Bonds posters by Norman Rockwell. The series was a visual representation of the closing remarks of President Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union speech. 

The first poster is “Save Freedom of Speech. Buy War Bonds” and depicts a man expressing his opinion at a town hall meeting. The second poster  “SAVE FREEDOM OF WORSHIP/ BUY WAR BONDS” depicts a gathering of individuals in joint prayer. Across the image reads the line “Each According to the Dictates of His Own Conscience” in white block text. The third poster in the series reads “OURS...to fight for. Freedom from Want” and depicts a warm and bountiful family meal. The last poster reads “OURS… to fight for/ FREEDOM FROM FEAR” and depicts a husband and wife tucking their children safely into bed, in a peaceful domestic setting.

President Roosevelt delivered his State of the Union speech to Congress on January 6, 1941. During his speech, Roosevelt painted his vision for a post-war world, one in which every human was guaranteed basic freedoms:

“In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world.

The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want—which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants-everywhere in the world.

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.” 

- President Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 6, 1941. 

Upon hearing the speech, painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell decided to lend his artistic talents to the war effort and set out to paint all four freedoms. This inspiration took the form of small-town scenes like town meetings and church services.

Rockwell prepared rough sketches in 1942 and then traveled to Washington to meet with the Ordinance Department of the U. S. Army in hopes of gaining a commission for the work. The Department had no money to back Rockwell’s idea. Not to be dismayed, Rockwell scheduled a meeting with the publisher of the popular Saturday Evening Post, Curtis Publishing Company, on his way back to Vermont. The editor, Ben Hibbs, agreed to publish Rockwell’s paintings as full covers and gave him three months paid time to work on the paintings. 

The popularity of the four covers prompted over 25,000 requests for reprints. In May 1943, the Saturday Evening Post and the Treasury Department launched a joint campaign to sell war bonds and stamps, using the Four Freedoms imagery. This campaign included a traveling exhibition of the original Four Freedoms paintings, accompanied by other cartoons, sketches and original manuscripts, to sixteen cities across the United States. Bonds were sold in denominations of $25, $100, and $1,000. Each person who purchased a bond received a set of prints of the four paintings. Thanks to the exhibition, 133 million dollars in war bonds and stamps were purchased. Concurrently, the Office of War Information printed sets of posters of the four paintings. The poster sets were distributed in United States schools and institutions, as well as overseas.

It is hard to find all four of these original posters, especially at one time, so we are very excited to be able to have all four posters for sale. We are selling each poster individually and I know they will make a standout addition to any WWII or Americana collection. I also hope collectors will consider purchasing more than one, or even the complete series, while this rare opportunity is available.