“Freedom of Worship”

ROCKWELL'S VERSIONS OF "The Four Freedoms" were subsequently exhibited all over the country during World War II and were instrumental in selling hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of War Bonds. It is, in fact, difficult to judge these paintings by normal standards because they belong as much to the realm of patriotism as to the world of art.

The one thing that all four canvases have in common is the fact that they convey their messages with a minimum of fuss. To represent "Freedom of Worship" Rockwell simply painted people of different faiths joined in the act of prayer. Heads, seen in profile, and hands fill the canvas. The color scheme is almost monochromatic, and there is very little depth of image, so that the composition reads almost like a photograph of a sculpted relief.

To emphasize the point he is making, Rockwell included the legend "Each according to the dictates of his own conscience, but this seems a trifle unnecessary, since the image speaks eloquently for itself.