US war bonds poster of a Rockwell painting depicting a man exercising freedom of speech
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 27.875 inches (70.803 cm) | Width: 20.000 inches (50.8 cm)
Creator(s)
- United States Government Printing Office (Printer)
- Norman Rockwell (Subject)
- United States Office of War Information (Distributor)
- Norman Rockwell (Artist)
Biographical History
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) was born in New York City, New York. He studied art at The New York School of Art, The National Academy of Design and The Art Students League. While still a teenager, he was hired as art director of Boys’ Life, the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America, and began a freelance career illustrating a variety of young people’s publications. Throughout his career Rockwell created covers for The Saturday Evening Post. In 1930, he married Mary Barstow, a schoolteacher, and they had three sons. In 1939, Rockwell and his family moved to Arlington, Vermont. In 1943, he painted the Four Freedoms, a series of four paintings based on a speech by President Franklin Roosevelt. The paintings toured the United States in a traveling exhibition and through the sale of war bonds, raised over $130 million for the war effort.
The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was created on June 13, 1942, to centralize and control the content and production of government information and propaganda about the war. It coordinated the release of war news for domestic use, and using posters along with radio broadcasts, worked to promote patriotism, warn about foreign spies, and recruit women into war work. The office also established an overseas branch, which launched a large-scale information and propaganda campaign abroad. The government appealed to the public through popular culture and more than a quarter of a billion dollars' worth of advertising was donated during the first three years of the National Defense Savings Program. Victory in Europe was declared on May 8, 1945, and in Japan on September 2, 1945. The OWI ceased operation in September.
Archival History
The poster was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988 by David and Zelda Silberman.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of David and Zelda Silberman
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
Four Freedoms war bonds poster featuring an image designed by Norman Rockwell in 1943. The poster shows a man standing to speak at a town meeting, symbolizing the freedom speech. It is one of a four-poster series using Rockwell's paintings, which were inspired by President Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms. He described these in his 1941 State of the Union Address (also called the Four Freedoms Speech): freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. The United States entered World War II in December 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Office of War Information (OWI) was established in June 1942, to control the message and imagery of government information about the war. This office controlled the design and distribution of war information to the American public in print, radio, and film media, and commissioned work from leading artists. Rockwell created a series of sketches about the Four Freedoms to support the war effort, but no one in Washington was interested in using them initially. The paintings were later published by the Saturday Evening Post beginning on February 26, 1943, and then reprinted, with permission, by the OWI. The OWI launched a nationwide tour with the paintings, raising $130 million dollars in war bond sales. They also offered the posters for sale in three different sizes, and four million sets of the posters were printed.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Large, rectangular poster printed on off-white paper, featuring an image of a man standing in the center of an audience of seated men as he prepares to speak. The man is wearing a blue flannel shirt and a waist-length, brown jacket with a pamphlet sticking out of one pocket. He is looking forward with his lips slightly parted, ready to speak, as his hands grip the back of the tan, wooden bench in front of him. The men around him, several holding blue pamphlets, turn their heads towards him to listen. Large, black text is printed in the wide margins above and below the image. The artist’s name is printed in green in the top right corner of the image. A line of small, black text is printed along the center of the bottom margin. The paper has a long, centered, vertical crease and three evenly spaced horizontal creases. There is a small hole in the center where the creases meet. There is some light staining on the back of the paper, which is yellowed with age.
People
- Rockwell, Norman, 1894-1978.
Corporate Bodies
- United States. Office of War Information
Subjects
- War posters, American.
- World War, 1939-1945--Finance--United States--Posters.
- Savings bonds--United States--Posters.
- War bonds--United States--Posters.
- World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects--United States--Posters.
- Freedom of Speech--United States--Posters.
- United States.
- Executive departments
- World War, 1939-1945--United States--Posters.
- Propaganda, American--Posters--Specimens.
Genre
- Posters
- Object
- War Posters.