Freedom from Want is considered one of Rockwell's finest works. Of the four paintings in the
Four Freedoms, it is the one most often seen in art books with critical review and commentary. Although all were intended to promote patriotism in a time of war,
Freedom from Want became a symbol of "family togetherness, peace, and plenty", according to
Linda Rosenkrantz, who compares it to "a '
Hallmark' Christmas". Embodying nostalgia for an enduring American theme of holiday celebration, The abundance and unity it shows were the idyllic hope of a post-war world, and the image has been reproduced in various formats. Rockwell's work came to be categorized within
art movements and
styles such as
Regionalism and
American scene painting. Rockwell's work sometimes displays an idealized vision of America's rural and agricultural past. Rockwell summed up his own idealism: "I paint life as I would like it to be." Despite Rockwell's general optimism, he had misgivings about having depicted such a large turkey when much of Europe was "starving, overrun [and] displaced" as
World War II raged. Rockwell noted that this painting was not popular in Europe: However, Richard Halpern says the painting not only displays overabundance of food, but also of "family, conviviality, and security", and opines that "overabundance rather than mere sufficiency is the true answer to want." He parallels the emotional nourishment provided by the image to that of the food nourishment that it depicts, remarking that the picture is noticeably inviting. However, by depicting the table with nothing but empty plates and white dishes on white linen, Rockwell may have been invoking the
Puritan origins of the Thanksgiving holiday. To art critic
Robert Hughes, the painting represents the theme of family continuity, virtue, homeliness, and abundance without extravagance in a Puritan tone, as confirmed by the modest beverage choice of water. Historian
Lizabeth Cohen says that by depicting this freedom as a celebration in the private family home rather than a worker with a job or a government protecting the hungry and homeless, Rockwell suggests that ensuring this freedom was not as much a government responsibility as something born from participation in the mass consumer economy. He is a microcosm of the entire scene in which no one appears to be giving thanks in a traditional manner of a Thanksgiving dinner. Theologian
David Brown sees gratitude as implicit in the painting, while Kenneth Bendiner writes that Rockwell was mindful of the
Last Supper and that the painting's perspective echoes its
rendition by Tintoretto. ==Essay==