Four Freedoms (Norman Rockwell) - Rockwell and World War II

Rockwell and World War II

From 1916 through his Kennedy Memorial cover on December 16, 1963, Rockwell created 321 magazine covers for The Saturday Evening Post, which was the most popular American magazine of the first half of the 20th century. In a preelectronic era where mass production magazine color illustration was the most popular form of media, Rockwell became a national name, who by the 1950s was rivaled only by Walt Disney for his familiarity to the public among visual artists. Rockwell illustrated American life during World War I and World War II in 34 of his cover illustrations, and he illustrated 33 Post covers during World War II. During much of the first half of the 1940s, Rockwell's cover illustrations focused on the human side of the war.

Rockwell encouraged support for the war efforts during World War II via his covers which endorsed war bonds, encouraged women to work, and encouraged men to enlist in the service. His World War II illustrations used themes of patriotism, longing, shifting gender roles, reunion, love, work, community and family during wartime to promote the war. In his role as a magazine illustrator during times of war, Rockwell draws comparisons to Winslow Homer, an American Civil War illustrator for Harper's Weekly. These four Rockwell artistic expressions were said to have led to the adoption of Roosevelt's Four Freedoms as a goal.

Rockwell made numerous artistic contributions to the war efforts in addition to the Four Freedoms. He is widely known for his idealized fictional wartime characters Willie Gillis and his depiction of Rosie the Riveter and some of his other war art is known by name such as War News and Homecoming Soldier. He was responsible for encouraging individual monetary support of the war through emotional posters like Hasten the Homecoming, 1943.