The Basics

Artist
Rockwell Kent
Year
1944
Location
Room 1334

Artist Rockwell Kent created the image specifically for the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Below the inscription "On Earth Peace" are winged figures representing the Four Freedoms  of speech, of religion, from want, and from fear — that fly toward the corners of the world; their wings form the letter "V" for victory. Below them are airplanes suggesting the vantage point high above the peaceful American landscape. The fields are cultivated, the highway crowded, and the seaport clean and modern.

Kent hoped that by the time the painting was complete Allied victory would be near and thoughts would turn to peace. The mural was unveiled in present-day room 1334 of the New House Office Building (later named the Longworth) in fall 1944. After the committee moved to another building, the mural was covered; in 1978, it was revealed once again.

Rockwell Kent (1882-1971) worked as an architectural draftsman, illustrator, printmaker, painter, and book illustrator. His work has been exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.