THE NEWEST EXHIBIT at the Corcoran Gallery of Art is excellent, largely because of what isn’t on display. Norman Rockwell’s depictions of the Four Freedoms are presented in the context of the moment of their creation. Though the temptation to use the exhibit as an opportunity to compare Rockwell’s time with our own must have been fierce, other than a passing comment that “the paintings are as relevant today as they have ever been,” the exhibit is blessedly silent on that topic.

Of course, it’s impossible to go into the exhibit without making such a comparison–the museum is in Washington, D.C., for God’s sake. But the curator has left the visitor to his own devices on that question, which is fine, since he is likely to leave believing whatever he believed when he went in.