Hank Willis Thomas & Emily Shur, Reimagined Norman Rockwell Freedom From Want (2018)
A lot of different flowers make a bouquet (Muslim proverb)
Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Thankful Poor (1894)
Enough is a feast.
Buddhist proverb
Jean-Francois Millet, The Angelus (1857 – 1859)
Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good (Maya Angelou).
Paul Gauguin, The Meal (1891)
Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold rather a large amount of gratitude (A.A. Milne).
John Singer Sargent, A Dinner Table at Night (1884)
Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life.
Rumi
Norman Rockwell, Family Grace 1938
For me every hour is grace.. Elie Wiesel
(Images courtesy Google Arts & Culture, Musee d’Orsay, Met Museum).
Norman Rockwell, Charwomen in Theater (1946) & Diego Rivera, Detroit Industry Murals (1933)Winslow Homer (1836 – 1910), The Mussel Gatherers (1881-82)Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525 – 1569), The Harvesters 1565Gustave Caillebotte (1848 – 1894), The Floor Scrapers (1875)Soviet Labor Mosaic
On January 6, 1941, with an eye towards the London blitz and German air raids, President Franklin Roosevelt gave a powerful speech in which he articulated his vision for a postwar world founded on four basic human freedoms. The speech was to encourage America to end its isolationism policy and join World War II. Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) was inspired by these words and visualized these freedoms in his own unique small-town neighborly way.
“In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. “
“The first is freedom of speech and expression–everywhere in the world.”
Norman Rockwell, Freedom of Speech, 1943.
“The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way–everywhere in the world.”
Norman Rockwell, Freedom of Worship, 1943
“The third is freedom from want–which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants-everywhere in the world.”
Norman Rockwell, Freedom From Want, 1943
“The fourth is freedom from fear–which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor–anywhere in the world.”
Norman Rockwell, Freedom from Want, 1943.
Two much loved, admired, and respected Americans – what an enduring legacy they have left for us to reflect upon.
I came across this fascinating work by Norman Rockwell last week, and was intrigued by overall subject matter, and the paintings in the painting – shown in this work. Rockwell did this work titled, “Picasso vs. Sargent,” for the January 11, 1966 edition of the LOOK magazine.
The painting by Rockwell shows two paintings in the same room of a museum. The first painting, on the left wall is an 1897 portrait of Mrs. George Swinton by John Singer Sargent, whereas the second painting is Picasso’s 1931 painting, “The Red Armchair.” Two very differently dressed women – representing different versions of femininity and women’s liberation – are looking at the two very different paintings, and we are not surprised by which lady is looking at which painting.
The era seems to be the threshold of time in between the 1950s and 1960s, when women moved out of the kitchen and into the workforce. They changed the way they dressed – feminine dresses and overcoats gave way to jeans and leather jackets, heels were discarded in favor of leather boots, and curlers were tossed in favor of natural relaxed hairstyles, Perhaps, children too are being traded for portfolios – as more and more women enter the workforce, they delay having children.
The portrait of Mrs. George Swinton can be found in the Art Institute of Chicago’s American Art Gallery. The painting, with its extravagant color and brushwork, epitomizes why Sargent as the leading portraitists of his time. According to the Art Institute, “he accentuated her regal bearing and feminine dress. Sargent harmonized the realism of her face and body with bursts of impressionistic brushstrokes describing the shimmering, translucent fabric descending from her shoulder.”
A woman and her daughter look at Sargent’s painting
In Rockwell’s painting, a woman and her little daughter are looking at the beautifully framed Sargent painting. The woman, daughter, and the doll – all three – strangely, have curlers in their hair. Apart from this anomaly, the mother is exquisitely and formally dressed in an overcoat, and heels, while the daughter is also wearing a young child’s dressy overcoat.
Picasso’s, “The Red Armchair,” is a portrait of Maris Therese-Walter – by whom a much older and married Picasso was smitten. According to the Art Institute of Chicago, which also owns this painting (in its Modern Art Gallery), “the smitten artist began to furtively reference her blond hair, broad features, and voluptuous body in his work. Perhaps acknowledging the double life they were leading, he devised a new motif; a face that encompasses both frontal and profile views.”
A young woman, in jeans, a leather jacket, and boots, with a portfolio in her hands studies the Picasso.
Of note here is also how well Rockwell has copied the very different works of Sargent and Picasso.
On the surface, this is such a fun painting of a visit to a museum. But a detailed look reveals a painting full of subtle messages, and this beautiful, almost poignant, painting captures a moment in American history and records it for posterity.
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