War is necessary to keep the freedoms. In 1943, Rockwell prepares a set of posters illustrating the Four Freedoms as defined by President Roosevelt in his 1941 State of the Union speech : Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear.
A new presidential election is held in November 1944. The outgoing president is ill but considers that America must not change his pilote. His Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey opposes him on some social themes but does not discuss military affairs and foreign policy. Because of the similarity of the programs, voters are undecided.
The cover by Rockwell for the Saturday Evening Post of November 4, 1944 shows an old man inside the voting booth. He holds his chin in a gesture of doubt while reading the local paper that does not help him much by its titling : Which one ? His pockets are filled with printed papers attesting that he considers the issue with the seriousness required to a good citizen.
The oil on canvas 94 x 74 cm prepared by Rockwell for this cover is estimated $ 4M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 21, lot 12.
SOLD for $ 6.5M including premium
#AuctionUpdate #SothebysAmerican Art is off to a running start with Norman Rockwell's 'Which One?' selling for $6,537,500 (est $4/6 million) pic.twitter.com/tBFIuiTour
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) November 21, 2016