Giving Thanks
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), “Freedom From Want,” 1943. Oil on canvas, 45 3/4″ x 35 /12″. Painting for “The Saturday Evening Post” story illustration, March 6, 1943. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©SEPS: Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN
Perhaps the best-known work by Norman Rockwell, Freedom From Want (1943) was created as part of his iconic Four Freedoms series, and is commonly referred to as the “Thanksgiving painting.” Including his wife, mother, and cook as models, the painting is impressive for its realistic rendering of lighted objects, and distinct composition (who hasn’t tried to pose like this for the holiday?). Part of the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum, The Four Freedoms are housed in their own special gallery at the Museum.
Norman Rockwell Museum will be closed on Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 27), but we hope you will join us for extended hours on Friday, November 28 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or for our Art of Adventure Family Festival Day on Saturday, November 29, from 1 to 4 p.m.— meet illustrator/historical artist Mort Künstler, the subject of our newest exhibition, who will discuss his work with a book and print-signing to follow.
Family Day Schedule:
1 p.m.: book/print signing by artist Mort Kunstler.
1:30 p.m.: music by Wind of the Wilderness (inspired by jazz, classical, and Native American music).
2:30 p.m.: fly-tying demonstration with fisherman, Dog McDevitt
2:30 p.m.: gallery talk
3:00 p.m.: tales of adventure with master storyteller, Tony Toledo
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.: build an action-adventure 3-D diorama
Also on view: Norman Rockwell: Home for the Holidays features a selection of the artist’s enduring holiday images, which appealed to viewer’s nostalgia for home, bygone times and a sense of universal good cheer and benevolence. Exhibition highlights include the Charles Dickens-inspired Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit (1934), and Home for Christmas (1955), a holiday illustration created for Sheaffer Pen Company, which expressed the artist’s penchant for traditional values and themes. These works and others on view illustrate how Norman Rockwell helped shape and define the holiday season for twentieth-century Americans.
Learn more about Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms
Learn more about the Art of Adventure Family Day
Start Holiday Shopping in our Museum Store (all orders placed in November ship with guaranteed delivery by December 25)