Thanksgiving: A look back at Norman Rockwell's iconic illustration 'Freedom From Want'
Thanks to 鈥淎merican Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell,鈥� Deborah Solomon鈥檚 new book about one of America鈥檚 most popular artists, readers are getting a fresh look at an enduring Thanksgiving image: Rockwell鈥檚 celebrated holiday illustration 鈥淔reedom From Want.鈥�
During World War II, Rockwell, who was best known for his homespun cover illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post, conceived a series of paintings to honor President Franklin Delano Roosevelt鈥檚 speech outlining the four freedoms essential to any civil society: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from fear, and freedom from want.
In Rockwell鈥檚 鈥淔reedom From Want,鈥� the viewer is taken 鈥渋nto the dining room of a comfortable American home on Thanksgiving Day, and you can tell from the light coming through sheer curtains that it is still mid-afternoon,鈥� Solomon tells readers. "The guests are seated at a long table, and no one is glancing at the massive roasted turkey or the white-haired grandma solemnly carrying it 鈥� do they even know she is there?鈥�
The grandmother in the painting was actually the Rockwell family鈥檚 cook, according to Solomon. The nine adults and two children who appear in the portrait were photographed in Rockwell鈥檚 studio and later painted into their various places at the dinner table.
Rockwell later had reservations about the painting, feeling that he made the turkey too big, Solomon reports. Some critics, especially those outside America, saw the picture as a perfect if unintentional expression of American excess. But Solomon notes that the casual chatter around the table points hopefully to a nation in which citizens enjoy traditions but aren鈥檛 constrained by them. The wry face staring directly at the viewer from the corner of the picture hints that Americans don鈥檛 take themselves too seriously.
Viewers can see 鈥淔reedom from Want鈥� online at the of the Norman Rockwell Museum.
Rockwell (1894-1978) has been widely dismissed for his idealized images of American life, but 鈥淔reedom from Want鈥� is a reminder that he was a subtler artist than his reputation suggests.聽
All the more reason, as Americans gather around their own holiday tables today, to give thanks for Norman Rockwell.
Danny Heitman, a columnist for The Advocate newspaper in Louisiana, is the author of 鈥淎 Summer of Birds: John James Audubon at Oakley House.鈥�
