FDR delivering his State of the Union address, January 6, 1941.

On January 6, 1941, eleven months before the United States entered World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his State of the Union address to the US Congress and to an uneasy and nervous American public. Following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, America declared war on Japan and—a few days later—on Germany. In what is often referred to as his “Four Freedoms” speech, the president proposed four freedoms that he believed should be protected globally: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. These marked the principles upon which America would take up arms and fight for universal freedom.

Arthur Szyk. George Washington the Soldier from Washington and His Times, Paris, 1930.

At the time of FDR’s speech, thirty-eight paintings of freedom were hanging in the White House. These paintings, which paid tribute to George Washington and the American Revolution, symbolized the freedoms for which America fought in the eighteenth century. Who was the artist of these gem-like miniature historical works of art, collectively titled Washington and His Times? Arthur Szyk. His watercolor and gouache paintings were completed in 1930 in Paris, purchased directly from him by the president of Poland, Ignacy Mościcki, in 1935, and gifted that same year to the president of the United States. Those paintings now reside at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York.

Arthur Szyk’s art in the White House before being moved to the FDR Presidential Library.

In 1940, Arthur Szyk (b. 1894 Łódź, Poland—d. 1951 New Canaan, Connecticut) immigrated to the US from London where he was then living. He went on to become America’s leading anti-Nazi artist in its fight against fascism, its dictators and its accomplices. His World War II role was attested to by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt who wrote in her syndicated newspaper column My Day that Szyk was fighting the Axis “as truly as any of us who cannot actually be on the fighting fronts.”

Szyk presents to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt signed poster stamps created to raise funds for the British-American Ambulance Corps. New York, 1941.

In his 1944 portrait of President Roosevelt, which Szyk later gifted and inscribed to Mrs. Roosevelt, he signed his name as “F.D.R.’s Soldier in Art.” For that is how he saw himself—as a fighting artist.

Arthur Szyk. F.D.R.’s Soldier in Art, New York, 1944 (inscribed in 1946).

Norman Rockwell. Four Freedoms. Arlington, Vermont, late 1942/early 1943. Oil on canvas. Each 45 ¾ x 35 ½ inches.

FDR’s Four Freedoms became popularized and most well-known through the artwork created by Norman Rockwell (born the same year as Szyk, in 1894, in New York City). Following the creation of his four paintings toward the end of 1942, Rockwell’s works were reproduced in successive weekly issues of the Saturday Evening Post, beginning in February 1943. The Post and the United States Department of the Treasury exhibited the original artwork throughout the country during which it raised over $132 million for US war bonds.

Four Freedoms stamp sheet. New York, 1942. Issued by the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe, New York.

What is not as well known today is that Arthur Szyk also painted the Four Freedoms in 1942. At the time, he was totally engaged in the war effort, using his motivational and supportive art on behalf of the US government and its soldiers fighting against the Axis of Germany, Japan and Italy. Additionally, Szyk’s art focused on calling attention to and raising money for the rescue of European Jews. His collaboration with Jewish activist Peter Bergson and with playwright Ben Hecht led him to take an active role as a vice-president in Bergson’s committees and as their one-man art department. One of his projects was the creation of the Four Freedoms paintings and their reproduction as poster stamps for the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe.

Postcard inscribed and dated by Szyk.

Szyk’s Four Freedoms paintings were also reproduced as enlarged postcards, and additionally became an essential element in the awards presented by the Four Freedoms Foundation (now the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute) to prominent American heroes and leaders. Among the recipients were former World War II US Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall (1952), former president Harry S. Truman (1953), and New York’s first Jewish governor and later its senator Herbert H. Lehman (1954).

Harry S. Truman accepting a Four Freedoms Foundation award featuring Szyk’s art. Waldorf Astoria, New York, September 28, 1953.

Arthur Szyk. Four Freedoms. New York, 1942. Watercolor and gouache on paper. Each 6 ¼ x 4 inches.

In Szyk’s Four Freedoms, the medieval knight is featured as the central figure, often accompanied with a shield emblazoned with the American stars and stripes. The knight appears—speaking, praying, feasting, and riding off to war—visually enacting each of the Four Freedoms. Szyk’s choice of the knight evokes the act of chivalry—symbolizing honor and the moral obligation to defend democracy—prepared to fight with lance, sword and shield to safeguard the fundamental rights of humanity.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH
In Freedom of Speech, the knight stands behind a podium, passionately delivering a speech to an unseen audience. The podium, which sits on an ornate rug, is intricately carved in a traditional European style. A shield donning a version of the American flag is propped up against the podium. To the side of the podium sits a potted fruit tree, and behind it is an ornamental staff. The staff has a banner that reads “freedom of speech.”

FREEDOM OF RELIGION
In Freedom of Religion, the knight kneels and prays, looking up at a banner that bears the titular message. In front of him lies an open book that reads “God bless our Country” in decorative script. Behind the knight is a red rose bush, and beneath him is a rug similar to that in Freedom of Speech.

FREEDOM FROM WANT
In Freedom from Want, the knight sits at a table with a feast in front of him raising a glass to the viewer. In his other hand, he holds a serving fork. There is an unoccupied stool opposite the knight and closest to the viewer, upon which rests a plate full of imported fruits. Behind the knight stands an orange tree with a bird perched on it.

FREEDOM FROM FEAR
Freedom from Fear shows the knight riding a horse while holding a lance and shield. The horse is adorned with decorative gold elements and a caparison—an ornamental covering placed over the saddle—that resembles the carpets from the other paintings.