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Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms is the catalog for the first comprehensive traveling exhibition devoted to Norman Rockwell's iconic depictions of FDR's Four Freedoms.
Enduring Ideals illuminates both the historic context in which FDR articulated the Four FreedomsFreedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fearand 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J.C. Leyendecker and Mead Schaeffer, to Ben Shahn, Dorothea Lange, and Gordon Parks, among others-as well as historical documents, photographs, videos, and artifacts; interactive digital displays; and immersive settings.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.
The catalogue features essays by exhibition co-curators Stephanie Haboush Plunkett and James Kimble, by Laurie Norton Moffat, Director of the Norman Rockwell Museum, and by other contributors, including activist Ruby Bridges, artist and granddaughter of Norman Rockwell, Daisy Rockwell, and Ambassador William vanden Heuvel.
About the author
Stephanie Haboush Plunkett is Deputy Director/Chief Curator of the Norman Rockwell Museum. She currently leads the Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies and has organized many illustration-based exhibitions, including
Inventing America: Rockwell and Warhol;
Rockwell and Realism in an Abstract World;
The Unknown Hopper: Edward Hopper as Illustrator;
William Steig: Love & Laughter; and
Ephemeral Beauty: Al Parker and the American Women's Magazine, 1940-1960; as well as the international traveling exhibition
Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms. Her most recent publication is
Drawing Lessons from the Famous Artists School: Classic Techniques and Expert Tips from the Golden Age of Illustration.
Summary
Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms is the catalog for the first comprehensive traveling exhibition devoted to Norman Rockwell's iconic depictions of FDR's Four Freedoms.
Enduring Ideals illuminates both the historic context in which FDR articulated the Four FreedomsFreedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fearand 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.
The catalogue features essays by exhibition co-curators Stephanie Haboush Plunkett and James Kimble, by Laurie Norton Moffat, Director of the Norman Rockwell Museum, and by other contributors, including activist Ruby Bridges, artist and granddaughter of Norman Rockwell, Daisy Rockwell, and Ambassador William vanden Heuvel.
Report
"Readers interested in the history of 20th-century America-those who lived through it and those who only read about it-should find inspiration in this work. It offers a fine vision of what can be done when the cause is just and the country united."
-Library Journal
"An interdisciplinary venture, this catalogue should provide insight not only for art historians but for those in American, media, and popular culture studies."
-CHOICE
