Artist Museums

Ben Shahn

Ben (Benjamin) Shahn (1898 - 1969) was active/lived in New York.  Ben Shahn is known for Social-realist painting, illustration, lithography, photography.

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BENJAMIN SHAHN (1898 - 1969)

Large eyes and big heads dominate Ben Shahn’s insightful paintings, prints, drawings, and murals. Often the narrative is sardonic, while at other times humorous, but always intuitive and compassionate about humankind. Throughout his life he was politically aware, often selecting current topics, many of which were controversial. From his mid-career onwards, he was a figurative artist with a distinctive style at a time when abstraction was all the rage.

Shahn was born in Kaunas (previously known in English as Kovno), Lithuania, in 1898, when it was part of the Russian Empire. His father, a woodworker, was banished to Siberia for demanding workers’ rights, and in 1906 his family immigrated to Brooklyn, New York. Later the artist recollected: “The first thing I can remember I drew.” He copied Biblical texts and developed a keen interest in lettering which he used frequently in his art. On occasion he was bullied by other boys who forced   ...  [Displaying 1000 of 12589 characters.]  Artist bio

Artist auction records

.  askART's database currently holds 792 auction lots for Ben Shahn (of which 624 auction records sold and 0 are upcoming at auction.)

Artist artworks for sale and wanted

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Research resources

.  askART lists Ben Shahn in 0 of its research Essays. Ben Shahn has 43 artist signature examples available in our database.

Similar artists

.  There are 24 similar (related) artists for Ben Shahn available:    Max Weber,  William Gropper,  Raphael Soyer,  Joseph Stella,  Reginald Marsh,  William Zorach,  Charles Burchfield,  John French Sloan,  Robert Gwathmey,  Alfred Maurer,  Milton Clark Avery,  Everett Shinn,  Leonard Baskin,  Arthur Bowen Davies,  Isabel (Wolff) Bishop,  Abraham Walkowitz,  John Marin,  Jack Levine,  Stuart Davis,  George Bellows,  Charles Sheeler,  Walt Francis (Walter) Kuhn,  Philip Howard (Blashki) Evergood,  Yasuo Kuniyoshi