BEN SHAHN PAINTINGS ARTWORK by BEN SHAHN
Text by James Thrall Soby
First Edition, SECOND Impression
Benjamin Shahn was born in Kovno (Kaunas), Lithuania, then occupied by the Russian Empire, to Jewish parents Joshua Hessel and Gittel (Lieberman) Shahn. His father was exiled to Siberia for possible revolutionary activities in 1902, at which point Shahn, his mother, and two younger siblings moved to Vilkomir (Ukmergė). In 1906, the family immigrated to the United States where they rejoined Hessel, who had fled Siberia. They settled in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York where two more siblings were born.
Shahn began his path to becoming an artist in New York, where he was first trained as a lithographer. Shahn's early experiences with lithography and graphic design is apparent in his later prints and paintings which often include the combination of text and image.
Shahn's primary medium was egg tempera, popular among social realists. In 1919 he enrolled at New York University, completing his studies at the City College of New York in 1924. After 2 years studying at the National Academy of Design, Shahn traveled in Europe and North Africa. Returning to America, he had his first one-man show in 1929.
Shahn's mature style and his emphasis on specific social themes date from the 1930s. His art was influenced by photographer Walker Evans, with whom he shared quarters. In 1931-1932 Shahn painted 23 gouaches and 2 mural panels based on the Sacco and Vanzetti case. The best known is the Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti; executed in tempera, with elongated bodies and slight caricature of the faces, the work is a masterpiece of understatement. This style remains consistent throughout his work. Fifteen gouache studies (1932-1933) dealing with labor leader Tom Mooney aroused the interest of Mexican mural painter Diego Rivera. Shahn became Rivera's assistant on the murals for the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center, New York City. Shahn used techniques learned from Rivera in murals and panel paintings commissioned by numerous Federal agencies. The eight paintings on the theme of prohibition for the Public Works Arts Project are good; the one titled W.C.T.U. Parade (1933-1934) is best known, shown below. His mural for the Community Center of the Federal Housing Development in Roosevelt, N.J. (1937-1938), is the most typical.
Shahn's themes were a variety of topical problems - from anti - semitism to unfair labor conditions; he framed them into a continuous wall plane that is subdivided by architectural devices. Though he borrowed the organizing motifs from Rivera, Shahn's murals are generally more readable and less crowded.Less well known are his photographs for the Farm Security Administration; typical is the one titled Arkansas Share Cropper's Family.
During the 1940s Shahn executed graphics for the Office of War Information and, later, for the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Register, Vote, a 1944 employment poster for the CIO, shows his concern with social equality and his ability to integrate language and visual form in a coherent design. He had a retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1947.
After the 1940s Shahn moved from what he called "social realism" to a "personal realism." He also increasingly turned to tempera painting and graphics. Yet his iconography was never "personal" or autobiographical. Rather, he reached a universal expression through the devices of symbolism and allegory, the stylized line, and the colorful palette, which are hallmarks of his style.
Whether his subject was music or a theme after the Spanish artist Francisco Goya,
he could evoke worlds with a single pen stroke or color overlay. Blind Botanist (shown left), a drawing for a painting (1954), demonstrates Shahn's ability to express the poignant, often tragic, state of mankind.
Shahn's Lucky Dragon series (1960-1962) visualizes the tragedy of the Japanese fishing vessel that sailed into an atomic testing area in 1954. Perhaps his greatest honor was his appointment as Charles Eliot Norton professor of poetry at Harvard University (1956-1957). He then continued to work prolifically and with social responsibility. He was especially active as an academic in the last two decades of his life, receiving honorary doctorates from Princeton University and Harvard University, and joined Harvard as a Charles Eliot Norton professor in 1956.
His published writings, including The Biography of Painting and The Shape of Content (1960), became influential works in the art world.
Below you will find some examples of the artwork from within. Mind you, they pale in comparison to the actual pictures herein! 144 pp A physical description follows below... Enjoy!
- FOR MORE ILLUSTRATED and ART books I have listed (which is usually a lot!) CLICK HERE or go to the ADVANCED SEARCH in eBay and copy and paste the word yobinitziyobolo into the eBay search box, and then check the SEARCH TITLE AND DESCRIPTIONS box.
For any of the other hundreds of items I have available use the link at the bottom of the page. And if you have any requests, by all means, send me an email; if I have it, I'll list it right away for you (no off eBay sales...)
About Me & This Item...
I am a private collector of art, books, music (10,000 records alone!) and "stuff" and am very picky about what I buy. I don't like surprises when I buy things from auctions any more than you do. I promise everything there is to know about this item is in this description. I also do not subscribe to "grading" as frankly, grading is totally inconsistent and most of the "graders" TRULY have no clue, so I will use plain English if it is OK with you...
- *This is a gently handled and previously read hardcover book in GREAT condition, with original dustjacket as issued. This book is bound in tan cloth with black embellishments on the front cover and spine. The binding is tight and solid, all pages intact, none loose, all crisp and bright, virtually unread. The dust jacket shows a minimal amount of shelfwear from handling, really just a little bit to the corners and edges, but it has been put in a Brodart protector to keep it fresh. It is a VERY nice copy collectible! Enjoy...
For over a decade, I have sold tens of thousands of items on eBay and have only received a handful of complaints about the accuracy in my descriptions. Having met eBay standards for excellence in trading, you may bid with confidence knowing you will get what you THINK you are bidding on! Please check my feedback. It is a record I am very proud of...
I have LOTS of music items, and tons of books available for purchase. Please check my other offerings to see if there is anything else you might be interested in for combined shipping. There are links above and below and why not bookmark my site to make it easier to find at a later date!
PAYMENT TERMS: Pretty simple. Pay me, I send it, BUT ONLY TO A REGISTERED ADDRESS! Please do not ask to have it sent to an alternate location as I won't be able to comply per eBay policy. See below..
Why Are My Shipping & Handling Costs a Bit Higher than Other Sellers? Please Read on... GUARANTEED DELIVERY OR YOUR MONEY BACK!
I really DO CARE about when and how your product gets to you. Because the post office is so incredibly inept, I ONLY SHIP domestic packages INSURED, which is AUTOMATICALLY INCLUDED in the shipping cost, and that is not free as the post office charges for it. If your parcel gets lost OR damaged in freight, your item will be replaced if one is available OR you will be completely refunded! IMPORTANT MONEY SAVING TIP! If you are buying more than one of my items and would like to SAVE MONEY by COMBINING SHIPPING costs, I will be happy to do so, but eBay has now made it more difficult to get discounts by confusing people with "Buy it Now" and "Add to Cart" options on non-auction style pages. If you are buying one item from a seller use the Buy it Now. BUT IF YOU WANT COMBINED or FREE SHIPPING, DO NOT USE THE BUY IT NOW button! Instead, select ADD TO CART. Then use your BACK button on your browser and select the other items you want that qualify using ADD TO CART each time. When you are finished, look for the shopping cart icon at the top right corner of your eBay page and click on it. Find the blue button which reads COMMIT TO BUY & SEND REQUEST. Once done, the items will be held and I will create a single invoice with either combined or free shipping. NOTE: I cannot retroactively go back and combine items that are not purchased in this manner so PLEASE PAY ATTENTION.
Once you receive your invoice, payment is expected promptly! All of the payment info you need will be listed including multiple shipment options.
Some states will require sales tax to be collected. Ebay will collect such as required. I HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THIS!
PAYMENT OPTIONS:
I accept Credit Cards, eChecks and electronic transfers with 
. Unfortunately, direct bank transfers are not offered due to cost and security concerns. As I reside in the USA, all payments must be made in US Dollars & Cents.
SHIPPING ADDRESSES: IMPORTANT!! I can ONLY SHIP to the address as noted in PAYPAL'S "TRANSACTION DETAILS". If you want it shipped to an alternate location, you will need to register that address BEFORE paying or it will be shipped to the registered address.
SHIPPING COSTS: Shipping costs will be determined by weight & destination! You may click on the SHIPPING & PAYMENT tab found at the top of the page, just under the item's picture for all shipping options to all destinations both domestic and international. There you will find drop down boxes for your location and you can then use the shipping calculator to determine the correct cost for where you live.
REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT INFO ABOUT SHIPPING TIMES: Media Mail (once known as 4th class mail) is a special class of postage for books, music, videos and other printed media available within the US and territories. It is far less expensive than Priority Mail, but - it ..... is ........... slooowwwww!!!! Despite USPS claims of 3-9 day delivery times, MEDIA MAIL CAN actually TAKE UP TO 3 WEEKS to arrive, and their tracking info is frequently not updated until it actually arrives, making that feature pretty useless! PLEASE remember this when you leave feedback scores as the choice is yours and not my fault if it takes a long time to get there! If you want it in a week or less, you are going to have to bite the bullet and pay for Priority Mail which will get it there in 2-3 working days, 99% of the time, but it is more expensive. Basically, the choice is yours, but if you choose media mail, please don't write to me in 5 days asking where your package is, because the post office will have it and most of the time, they don't have a clue!
I really DO CARE about when and how your product gets to you. Because the post office is so incredibly inept, I ONLY SHIP domestic packages INSURED, which is AUTOMATICALLY INCLUDED in the shipping cost, and that is not free as the post office charges for it. If your parcel gets lost OR damaged in freight, your item will be replaced if one is available OR you will be completely refunded!
IMPORTANT MONEY SAVING TIP! If you are buying more than one of my items and would like to SAVE MONEY by COMBINING SHIPPING costs, I will be happy to do so, but eBay has now made it more difficult to get discounts by confusing people with "Buy it Now" and "Add to Cart" options on non-auction style pages. If you are buying one item from a seller use the Buy it Now. BUT IF YOU WANT COMBINED or FREE SHIPPING, DO NOT USE THE BUY IT NOW button! Instead, select ADD TO CART. Then use your BACK button on your browser and select the other items you want that qualify using ADD TO CART each time. When you are finished, look for the shopping cart icon at the top right corner of your eBay page and click on it. Find the blue button which reads COMMIT TO BUY & SEND REQUEST. Once done, the items will be held and I will create a single invoice with either combined or free shipping. NOTE: I cannot retroactively go back and combine items that are not purchased in this manner so PLEASE PAY ATTENTION.
Once you receive your invoice, payment is expected promptly! All of the payment info you need will be listed including multiple shipment options.
Some states will require sales tax to be collected. Ebay will collect such as required. I HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THIS!
PAYMENT OPTIONS:
.
SHIPPING ADDRESSES: IMPORTANT!! I can ONLY SHIP to the address as noted in PAYPAL'S "TRANSACTION DETAILS". If you want it shipped to an alternate location, you will need to register that address BEFORE paying or it will be shipped to the registered address.
SHIPPING COSTS: Shipping costs will be determined by weight & destination! You may click on the SHIPPING & PAYMENT tab found at the top of the page, just under the item's picture for all shipping options to all destinations both domestic and international. There you will find drop down boxes for your location and you can then use the shipping calculator to determine the correct cost for where you live.
Media Mail (once known as 4th class mail) is a special class of postage for books, music, videos and other printed media available within the US and territories. It is far less expensive than Priority Mail, but - it ..... is ........... slooowwwww!!!! Despite USPS claims of 3-9 day delivery times, MEDIA MAIL CAN actually TAKE UP TO 3 WEEKS to arrive, and their tracking info is frequently not updated until it actually arrives, making that feature pretty useless! PLEASE remember this when you leave feedback scores as the choice is yours and not my fault if it takes a long time to get there! If you want it in a week or less, you are going to have to bite the bullet and pay for Priority Mail which will get it there in 2-3 working days, 99% of the time, but it is more expensive. Basically, the choice is yours, but if you choose media mail, please don't write to me in 5 days asking where your package is, because the post office will have it and most of the time, they don't have a clue!
Questions? Ask and I'll try to answer...