| May 25, 2018 - September 30, 2020 |
ENDURING IDEALS: ROCKWELL, ROOSEVELT, & THE FOUR FREEDOMS
The first comprehensive traveling exhibition devoted to Norman Rockwell's iconic depictions of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Four Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom of Want, and Freedom of Fear.
Rockwell, Roosevelt, & the Four Freedoms explores the indelible odyssey of humanity’s greatest ideals.
The notion of the Four Freedoms has inspired dozens of national constitutions across the globe, yet Franklin D. Roosevelt’s declaration that the United States was willing to fight for Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear—now considered a sublime moment in rhetorical history—did not turn out to be the immediate triumph envisioned by the President. As the nation found itself sliding ever closer to direct involvement in World War II, the underlying meaning of his words captured surprisingly little attention among Americans. Following his January 6, 1941, Annual Message to Congress, government surveys showed that only half of Americans were aware of FDR’s Four Freedoms and that less than a quarter could identify them correctly. Moreover, many had no clear idea why the United States was being called upon to enter the war.
It would take the continuous efforts of the White House, the Office of War Information, and scores of patriotic artists to give the Four Freedoms new life. Most prominent among those was Norman Rockwell, whose images became a national sensation in early 1943 when they were first published in The Saturday Evening Post. Roosevelt’s words and Rockwell’s artworks soon became inseparable in the public consciousness, with millions of reproductions publicizing the Second War Loan Drive bringing the Four Freedoms directly into American homes and workplaces. When Eleanor Roosevelt convinced United Nations delegates to include these ideals in its postwar statement of human rights, FDR’s words—now forever entwined with Rockwell’s images—achieved immortality.
Born amid the turmoil of World War II, the Four Freedoms have since become one of its greatest legacies, a testament to the paramount importance of human rights and dignity. Brought forward by one of America’s greatest presidents and immortalized by one of its most beloved artists more than seventy-five years ago, the Four Freedoms continue to inspire, resonating across generations as strongly today as they did in their time.
CO-PRESENTING MAY 25, 2018 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2018:
ROOSEVELT HOUSE (REIMAGINING THE FOUR FREEDOMS)
OCTOBER 13, 2018 - JANUARY 13, 2019:
THE HENRY FORD MUSEUM
20900 Oakwood Blvd.
DEARBORN, MI
FEBRUARY 9, 2019 - MAY 6, 2019:
THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY MUSEUM AND THE TEXTILE MUSEUM
701 21st Street, NW
WASHINGTON, DC
JUNE 4, 2019 - OCTOBER 27, 2019:
Le Mémorial de Caen
Esplanade Général Eisenhower
CS 55026
14050 Caen Cedex 4
CAEN, FRANCE
DECEMBER 15, 2019 - MARCH 22, 2020:
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON
1001 Bissonnet
HOUSTON, TEXAS
FALL 2020:
NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM
9 Glendale Rd / Rte 183
STOCKBRIDGE, MA
The New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
at Richard Gilder Way (77th Street)
New York, NY More info |
Exhibits |
International |
| June 29, 2018 - August 31, 2019 |
Baseball Americana
Americans had been playing baseball long before they agreed on the rules or even settled on how to spell it.
Base-Ball (1787)
base-ball (1799)
base ball (1818)
Base Ball (1845)
baseball (1899)
They didn't always call it baseball either—in some places it was known simply as "town ball" or, more generically, "round ball." No matter what form it has taken, baseball—and its close fraternal twin, softball—has endured. But it hasn't stayed the same in anyone's lifetime. Former major leaguer and announcer Bob Uecker, on hearing the phrase "emotional distress" to describe poor hitting, observed, "When I played, they didn't use fancy words like that. They just said I couldn't hit."
Baseball Americana features items from the Library of Congress collections and those of its lending partners to consider the game then and now—as it relates to players, teams, and the communities it creates. Although baseball has stayed true to many of its customs, it has also broken with tradition through the invention, competition, and financial interests that still make it the most played sport in the country.
8:30am - 4:30pm
South Gallery, 2nd Floor
Library of Congress Jefferson Building
10 First Street SE
Washington, DC More info |
Exhibits |
Mid-Atlantic |
| October 12, 2018 - June 30, 2020 |
Magnificent Obsessions
The impulse to collect is human. We collect for many reasons: to gather information about the world, to preserve the past, or to follow our interests and desires. For some, it is a lifelong pursuit.
Pioneering collectors have long shaped Smithsonian Libraries. Each had their own unique passions, from hot-air balloons to seashells, from Japanese prints to world’s fairs. Together, these diverse collections form a vast network of knowledge.
Smithsonian Libraries continues to build upon the work of these curious collectors. We preserve historic treasures and everyday items to provide a window onto the past. We seek out new sources and collections to advance research and scholarship. And we share our collections with the world to inspire curiosity and spark new ideas. Like a modern day cabinet of curiosity, Smithsonian Libraries collections span eras and disciplines, enabling discovery, inspiring creativity, and illuminating history.
Our collections are living and breathing. What will we collect next?
10am - 5:30pm
(summer hours may vary)
Smithsonian Libraries Exhibition Gallery
Smithsonian National Museum of
American History
14th Street & Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC More info |
Exhibits |
Mid-Atlantic |
| October 29, 2018 - August 4, 2019 |
Reimagining Captain Cook Pacific perspectives
250 years ago James Cook left England on the first of three expeditions to the Pacific Ocean. A skilful navigator, he visited many places new to Europeans and his voyage accounts were widely read and celebrated. Today, his legacy is sometimes debated. In the Pacific, Islanders continue to remember the encounters that occurred, reimagining them in artworks which reflect on their impact.
This exhibition explores these Pacific perspectives and displays the work of contemporary Pacific artists, alongside objects collected on the voyages themselves. Michel Tuffery’s powerful painting Cookie in the Cook Islands, imagines how Cook might have been transformed by his Pacific experiences. Lisa Reihana’s Taking Possession, Lono, shows Captain Cook and his men about to hoist the British flag on a Polynesian island, raising questions about what each group might have understood by the idea of ‘taking possession’. An imposing Tahitian costume worn at ceremonies to mark the death of a chief, is on display for the first time in many decades. Collected on Cook’s second voyage and one of only a handful still in existence, it has been extensively conserved.
As commemorations abound on this major anniversary, this exhibition considers some of the complexities of Cook’s legacy in the Pacific, from New Zealand to Vanuatu and from Australia to the islands of Hawaii.
Open daily 10.00 – 17.30
Fridays: open until 20.30*
* except Good Friday
Please note: the gallery will be closed to the public on April 10th, 2019
Free admission
Room 91
The British Museum
Great Russell Street
London, ENGLAND More info |
Exhibits |
International |
