 The painting was created in November 1942 and published in the March 6 , 1943 issue of The Saturday Evening Post . All of the people in the picture were friends and family of Rockwell in Arlington , Vermont , who were photographed individually and painted into the scene . The work depicts a group of people gathered around a dinner table for a holiday meal . Having been partially created on Thanksgiving Day to depict the celebration , it has become an iconic representation of the Thanksgiving holiday and family holiday gatherings in general . The Post published Freedom from Want with a corresponding essay by Carlos Bulosan as part of the Four Freedoms series . Despite many who endured sociopolitical hardships abroad , Bulosan 's essay spoke on behalf of those enduring the socioeconomic hardships domestically , and it thrust him into prominence . 
