Download Thanksgiving Image [VERIFIED]
Jacque Finister
This year, I decided to expand my annual tradition of displaying beautiful Thanksgiving images. Not only did I request photos from employees, business partners, and friends, but I also reached out to my @MarthaStewart48 Instagram followers. So many of you responded with gorgeous table settings, holiday decorations, and delicious foods. I've enjoyed seeing every one of your submissions.
So many of you have commented on how much you enjoy seeing these Thanksgiving photos. I received images from followers across the country - New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, Florida, California, etc.
U.S. Soldiers of 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division eat Thanksgiving Meals at Camp Aachen, Germany, Nov. 23, 2023. 2nd Armored Brigade leaders came together to put their Soldier first, by serving them thanksgiving meals. This is a time-honored tradition for leaders to show their appreciation for their Soldiers, the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division is forward deployed to Europe in support of the 3rd Infantry Division. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Spc. Jet Cortez)
Just a quick comment--Franklin the turtle was created by Canadian author, Paulette Borgeois. In Canada Thanksgiving is not associated with the images of the American Pilgrim/Native American Thanksgiving story.
Sure, Roger Rabbit, B'rer Bear, Peter Pan, Snow White, and Dopey have been swapped out for more "timeless" members of Disney canon, refocusing the image on the "Fab Five" at adjacent characters who exist alongside them. On the surface, that could make this updated version a more evergreen one. But look closer...
Including the fact that fans feel pretty certain that instead of being drawn by a Disney Legend or an animator embodying a century of love and care for these characters, it appears that Disney's 2023 version of "Freedom from Want" was created by AI. Look at the foods on the table and how the celery sprigs appear to be in front of the glass that they're clearly meant to be behind. And because AI would read the light from the window as casting the whole image in shadow, this weirdly photorealistic version of the painting is also... dark... eerie... shadowy...
The painting has had a wide array of adaptations, parodies, and other uses, such as for the cover for the 1946 book Norman Rockwell, Illustrator. Although the image was popular at the time in the United States and remains so, it caused resentment in Europe where the masses were enduring wartime hardship. Artistically, the work is highly regarded as an example of mastery of the challenges of white-on-white painting and as one of Rockwell's most famous works.
The illustration is an oil painting on canvas, measuring 45.75 by 35.5 inches (116.2 cm 90.2 cm). The Norman Rockwell Museum describes it as a story illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, complementary to the theme,[7] but the image is also an autonomous visual expression.[8]
The painting shows an aproned matriarch presenting a roasted turkey to a family of several generations,[9] in Rockwell's idealistic presentation of family values. The patriarch looks on with fondness and approval from the head of the table,[10] which is the central element of the painting. Its creased tablecloth shows that this is a special occasion for "sharing what we have with those we love", according to Lennie Bennett.[8] The table has a bowl of fruit, celery, pickles, and what appears to be cranberry sauce. There is a covered silver serving dish that would traditionally hold potatoes, according to Richard Halpern,[11] but Bennett describes this as a covered casserole dish.[8] The servings are less prominent than the presentation of white linen, white plates and water-filled glasses. The people in the painting are not yet eating, and the painting contrasts the empty plates and vacant space in their midst with images of overabundance.[12]
Freedom from Want is considered one of Rockwell's finest works.[20] Of the four paintings in the Four Freedoms, it is the one most often seen in art books with critical review and commentary. Although all were intended to promote patriotism in a time of war, Freedom from Want became a symbol of "family togetherness, peace, and plenty", according to Linda Rosenkrantz, who compares it to "a 'Hallmark' Christmas".[25] Embodying nostalgia for an enduring American theme of holiday celebration,[26] the painting is not exclusively associated with Thanksgiving, and is sometimes known as I'll Be Home for Christmas.[27] The abundance and unity it shows were the idyllic hope of a post-war world, and the image has been reproduced in various formats.[25]
According to author Amy Dempsey, during the Cold War, Rockwell's images affirmed traditional American values, depicting Americans as prosperous and free.[28] Rockwell's work came to be categorized within art movements and styles such as Regionalism and American scene painting. Rockwell's work sometimes displays an idealized vision of America's rural and agricultural past.[29] Rockwell summed up his own idealism: "I paint life as I would like it to be."[30]
Despite Rockwell's general optimism, he had misgivings about having depicted such a large turkey when much of Europe was "starving, overrun [and] displaced" as World War II raged.[21][31][32] Rockwell noted that this painting was not popular in Europe:[31][32] "The Europeans sort of resented it because it wasn't freedom from want, it was overabundance, the table was so loaded down with food."[11] Outside the United States, this overabundance was the common perception.[33] However, Richard Halpern says the painting not only displays overabundance of food, but also of "family, conviviality, and security", and opines that "overabundance rather than mere sufficiency is the true answer to want." He parallels the emotional nourishment provided by the image to that of the food nourishment that it depicts, remarking that the picture is noticeably inviting. However, by depicting the table with nothing but empty plates and white dishes on white linen, Rockwell may have been invoking the Puritan origins of the Thanksgiving holiday.[11]
One of the notable and artistically challenging elements of the image is Rockwell's use of white-on-white: white plates sitting on a white tablecloth.[8][33] Art critic Deborah Solomon describes this as "one of the most ambitious plays of white-against-white since Whistler's Symphony in White, No. 1".[35] Solomon further describes the work as "a new level of descriptive realism. Yet, the painting doesn't feel congested or fussy; it is open and airy in the center. Extensive passages of white paint nicely frame the individual faces."[35]
Ironically, Jefferson had once declared a Thanksgiving while serving as governor of Virginia in 1779. He declared a day of Thanksgiving and Prayer. He later explained that he was willing to do so as governor, but not as president because he believed he could not endorse such a holiday without conflicting with the First Amendment. He also considered days of thanksgiving the responsibility of the states, not the federal government.
Disney has more than just the AI Thanksgiving image drama on their plate this holiday season. Their new animated movie, Wish, which came out in theaters on Thanksgiving Day, is a musical about the origin of the Wishing Star.
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