Wikipedia:Today's featured article/June 1, 2014

The Four Freedoms is a series of four 1943 oil paintings by the American artist Norman Rockwell (1894–1978). The paintings—Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear—refer to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's January 1941 Four Freedoms State of the Union address in which he identified essential human rights that should be universally protected, a theme which became part of the charter of the United Nations. The paintings were reproduced in The Saturday Evening Post alongside essays by prominent thinkers of the day. They became the highlight of a year-long touring exhibition to promote the sale of war bonds in support of the American war effort, which raised over $132 million. Rockwell (pictured in his twenties) was the most widely known and popular commercial artist of the mid 20th century, but failed to achieve critical acclaim. The four paintings, which are now in the Norman Rockwell Museum, are his best-known works, but critical review has not been entirely positive. However, Rockwell created a niche in the enduring social fabric with Freedom from Want, emblematic of what is now known as the "Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving". (Full article...)

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