Four Freedoms

Four Freedoms is a series of painting made by American painter Norman Rockwell in 1943, inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 speech about the four essential democratic freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear.

This series of paintings was created by Rockwell during the onset of World War II. This wartime era saw a rise in American nationalism and unity which prompted Rockwell to illustrate these paintings. These romanticized depictions of American ideals were a conscious effort to create a patriotic sense of shared identity among American citizens in the face of the second World War.

This piece combines ideas of nationalism, shared identity, and visibility among Americans during this time period. In the face of the World War, American citizens tightly clung onto democratic ideals and a sense of solidarity in order to not only feel safe, but also unify against the Axis powers during World War II. Artwork such as this serves as an effective use of propaganda by appealing to to the American desire for visibility and solidarity with one another, as well as the tribalistic desire to oppose an “other”.