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The Light of Freedom

Oil on canvas
48 × 36 in (121.9 × 91.4 cm)

The first of sixteen paintings commissioned by Joe Mannke of Rotisserie for Beef and Bird, The Light of Freedom began in prayer. Unable at first to resolve the composition, Turner fasted and prayed before the image came to him: George Washington bent over the Constitution, illuminated by divine guidance. The figures behind Washington are people from across the world drawn to the freedoms the document secured. The painting marks the turning point in Turner’s career where faith and historical narrative became inseparable.

Provenance
Commissioned by Joe Mannke, Rotisserie for Beef and Bird, Houston; the first of sixteen
Related
Washington’s Headquarters at Valley Forge. Oil on canvas, 24 × 18 in. Painting by Kenneth R. Turner.
Washington’s Headquarters at Valley Forge
24 × 18 in (61.0 × 45.7 cm)
From These Honored Dead. Oil on canvas, 72 × 48 in. Painting by Kenneth R. Turner.
From These Honored Dead
72 × 48 in (182.9 × 121.9 cm)
Out of the Ashes, 2001–2002. Oil on canvas, 40 × 50 in. Painting by Kenneth R. Turner.
Out of the Ashes, 2001–2002
40 × 50 in (101.6 × 127.0 cm)