Exhibitions
The Four Freedoms were widely exhibited as part of the sixteen-city Second War Loan Drive in 1943 and have subsequently been part of other tours and exhibitions. They were a highlight of the first comprehensive Rockwell touring exhibition, entitled Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People, which was a seven-city tour that ran from November 1999 until February 2002. They returned to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, which had been part of the Pictures for the American People tour, for an exhibition in association with the National World War II Memorial grand opening in 2004.
In addition to being included in various tours, the Four Freedoms were the subject of a 144-page book in 1993, the fiftieth anniversary of their production. The book is a very detailed account of the history of the Four Freedoms. It starts with Roosevelt's inspiration for the painting series and their publication. Then it describes the tour, which began at Hecht's Department Store in Washington, D.C. with Supreme Court Associate Justice William O. Douglas speaking. It includes various appendices, such as the four essays (by Tarkington, Durant, Bulosan, and Benet) that accompanied the original publication in The Saturday Evening Post and the essay that accompanied the government printing as well as original essays for the book.
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