Freedom House 85th Anniversary Commission by Artist Laura Roosevelt
As part of its 85th anniversary celebration, Freedom House arranged a special commission with Laura Roosevelt, the great-granddaughter of President Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt. Laura is an American contemporary artist whose work explores the intersection of democracy, history and human experience. Learn more about her work and the Freedom House Commission.
Historic American Pop: An Introduction
Historic American Pop by Laura Roosevelt is a contemporary visual language that brings American history forward into the present, transforming it into bold and living iconography.
In Laura’s work, the past is not distant or fixed. It is active, vivid, and still speaking.
Drawing from the enduring figures, language, and symbols that have shaped the American story, Laura Roosevelt creates compositions where image and text are inseparable. Words are not simply included; they are built into the structure of the work itself. Fragments of speeches, declarations, and cultural memory are layered with visual elements to form pieces that feel both immediate and deeply rooted. What appears is a body of work that does not preserve history quietly but reanimates it with energy and clarity.
While the work carries the visual confidence associated with Pop Art, its intention is markedly different. Rather than reducing historical figures to surface or repetition, Roosevelt restores their weight and presence. Her work invites a reconsideration of what these individuals and ideas stand for, not only in their own time, but in ours. It asks the viewer to engage with history as something ongoing, something that continues to shape identity, responsibility, and belief.
The Freedom House Commission
In 2026, Freedom House approached Laura Roosevelt with a commission to create a series of five paintings centered on the idea of freedom. The invitation came with little instruction. There was no prescribed visual direction, no limitation on interpretation, and no expectation beyond engaging the theme itself.
Roosevelt responded by turning to the voices that have defined the meaning of freedom across generations. She drew from the words and leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose articulation of the Four Freedoms helped shape a global understanding of human rights, from Eleanor Roosevelt, whose work at the United Nations placed human dignity at the center of international dialogue, from Martin Luther King Jr., whose call for justice gave moral force to the promise of equality, and from Wendell Willkie, who spoke to the indivisibility of freedom across nations and peoples.
The five resulting works form a cohesive and deeply considered series. Each painting integrates historical text with layered imagery, allowing the original words to remain intact while placing them within a contemporary visual context. The pieces move across time and perspective, from wartime America to the civil rights movement to the broader global vision of human freedom. They include Paint the World Green, The Declaration, A World Where All Are Free, Let Freedom Ring, and The Equality of Man.
What Freedom House offered in openness, Roosevelt returned with clarity. The series stands as both reflection and statement. It affirms that the language of freedom, spoken across decades by different voices, is not complete. It is ongoing, and it remains a call to be understood, protected, and lived.
The Declaration
"During my years at the UN, it was my work on the Human Rights Commission that I considered my most important task"
Attribution
Eleanor Roosevelt, The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt 1961
2026 | Mixed Media Photo Collage on Canvas | 36 x 34 in
A World Where All Are Free
“True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence.”
Attribution
Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 11, 1944
2026 | Mixed Media Photo Collage on Canvas | 36 x 32 in
Paint the World Green
“We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way. The third is freedom from want. The fourth is freedom from fear.”
Attribution
Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 6, 1941
2026 | Mixed Media Photo Collage on Canvas | 36 x 28 in
Let Freedom Ring
“Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last”
Attribution
Martin Luther King Jr., August 28, 1963
2026 | Mixed Media Photo Collage on Canvas | 36 x 26 in
The Equality of Man
“Freedom is an indivisible word. If we want to enjoy it, and fight for it, we must be prepared to extend it to everyone, whether they are rich or poor, whether they agree with us or not, no matter what their race or the color of their skin.”
Attribution
Wendell Willkie, One World, 1943
2026 | Mixed Media Photo Collage on Canvas | 34 x 36 in
About the Artist
Laura Roosevelt is an American painter whose work explores emotion, memory, and the layered narratives that shape human experience. Working primarily in abstraction, she uses color, gesture, and movement to create compositions that invite reflection and personal interpretation. Raised in a family deeply connected to American history and public life, Roosevelt developed an early awareness of the cultural forces that influence society and storytelling. Through travel and engagement with historians, musicians, and filmmakers, she has cultivated a perspective that bridges art, history, and intellectual inquiry. Roosevelt continues to explore the expressive possibilities of painting through a practice grounded in curiosity, experimentation, and a lifelong commitment to creative discovery.
