The Norman Rockwell Museum has put together a powerful exhibition based on the prolific artist’s 1943 Four Freedoms illustrations. Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt and The Four Freedoms opened at the New-York Historical Society on May 25, 2018, is now in Washington, DC at the Georgetown University Museum through April 29, from which it will travel to Normandy, France. The stop at Normandy’s Caen Memorial is its only destination outside of the U.S., where it will be displayed from June 10 to October 27, 2019. The timing couldn’t be more appropriate as France will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Normandy Landing just days after the exhibit opens there.
According to Laurie Norton Moffatt, Director of the Norman Rockwell Museum, the exhibit “…will show how Rockwell’s aspirational paintings shifted American attitudes towards engagement in the War in defense of the free world, and, ultimately, helped to make the case for universal human rights. In doing this, the exhibition reveals the enduring power of illustration to communicate ideas and inspire change.”
WHY THE CAEN MEMORIAL?
Born amid the turmoil of WWII, the original Four Freedoms were ideals elucidated by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Fear, and Freedom from Want.
The Caen Memorial, a museum and commemorative center for the events of the Great Wars, also focuses on these liberties. Its mission is to raise awareness on the fragility of peace, using the Allies’ landing and liberation of mainland Europe on June 6, 1944 as its main vehicle. The Center, built on grounds where the iconic Battle of Normandy took place, is a wealth of authentic information, presented in a timeline format beginning in the pre-war period. It provides crucial contextual info and artifacts on the geopolitical mood of the time, and Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt and The Four Freedoms will offer an important, complementary American perspective.
