ERA: 1940s

DIMENSIONS: H 29.25in. X W 21in. Framed under Acrylic (lightweight)

MEDIUM: Department of Defense Issued Poster

SOURCED: Springfield, Ohio, USA

"Freedom from Fear is the last of the well-known Four Freedoms oil paintings produced by the American artist Norman Rockwell. The series was based on the four goals known as the Four Freedoms, which were enunciated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his State of the Union Address on January 6, 1941. This work was published in the March 13, 1943, issue of The Saturday Evening Post alongside an essay by a prominent thinker of the day, Stephen Vincent Benét. The painting is generally described as depicting American children being tucked into bed by their parents while the Blitz rages across the Atlantic in Great Britain. 

The series of paintings was printed in The Saturday Evening Post, accompanied by essays from noted writers, on four consecutive weeks in early 1943: Freedom of Speech (February 20), Freedom of Worship (February 27), Freedom from Want (March 6) and Freedom from Fear (March 13). Eventually, the series was widely distributed in poster form and became instrumental in the U.S. Government's Second War Bond Drive."

Please Note that all items are in original, antique, and vintage condition, they have been preserved at their found state and have purposefully not been restored to maintain their own unique and personal history. We believe that each imperfection tells a story.- L'uomo Curioso

REFERENCES

Claridge, Laura (2001). "21: The Big Ideas". Norman Rockwell: A Life. Random House. pp. 303–314. 

Hennessey, Maureen Hart and Anne Knutson (1999). "The Four Freedoms". Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. with High Museum of Art and Norman Rockwell Museum. pp. 94–102. 

Meyer, Susan E. (1981). Norman Rockwell's People. Harry N. Abrams. pp. 128–133. 

Richards, Denis. Royal Air Force 1939–1945: Volume I The Fight at Odds. London: HMSO, 1953. 

Solomon, Deborah (2013). "Fifteen: The Four Freedoms (May 1942 to May 1943)". American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 201–220.