The Norman Rockwell Museum has produced a brief documentary telling the story of how Norman Rockwell interpreted Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms" speech into a series of paintings that defined the WWII war effort.
Although inspired by the ideals of Roosevelt's speech, the lofty language stymied Rockwell at first. "It was so darned high blown," he said, "sometimes I couldn't get my mind around it." (Link to video on YouTube)
My grandmother received the Saturday Evening Post each week and Norman Rockwell was the first artist I became aware of when I was a child. I would comb his cover paintings in awe of his skill and the emotional feelings I felt. I'm sure I wasn't the only kid paying attention. His painting of a soldier returning to his home in a city tenement still floats around in my memory. The joy, the exuberance of the people. And, Oh, those bricks. How could anyone paint those bricks so real. When I used to paint commissions of people's homes, I charged more for a brick home. Thanks for posting this.
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing this to us, Jim. When I visited the Rockwell Museum, I was struck by how thick the paint was in areas of “Freedom from Want.” As the narration notes, the table has a range of subtle gradations of white. The brightest whites had the thickest paint.
ReplyDeleteIt’s amazing to contemplate the impact these paintings had; the number of people who clamored to see them, to own prints, and the amount of money they raised for the war effort.
this brought tears to my eyes.
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