shahn, ben

"'The first thing I can remember,' Ben said, 'I drew.' As an observant young child growing up in Lithuania, Ben Shahn yearns to draw everything he sees--and, after seeing his father banished by the Czar for demanding workers' rights, he develops a keen sense of justice, too. So when Ben and the rest of his family make their way to America, Ben brings with him both his sharp artistic eye and his desire to fight for what's right. As he grows, he speaks for justice through his art--from challenging classmates who bully him for being Jewish, to resisting his teachers' calls to paint beautiful landscapes in favor of painting stories true to life, to using his work to urge the US government to pass Depression-era laws that help people find food and security. In this moving and timely portrait, award-winning author and illustrator Cynthia Levinson and Evan Turk honor an artist, immigrant, and activist whose work still resonates today: a true painter for the people"--Provided by the publisher.

Presents a collection of documentary street photographs taken by artist Ben Shahn in New York City in the early 1930s, with text that examines the social history of the pictures, as well as an analysis of Shahn's motives and the importance of his art.

A biography of artist Ben Shahn beginning with his arrival in the U.S. at age eight, examining his mural work, his photography, his efforts in advertising, and his return to painting; and discussing the personal and political entanglements he experienced as a result of his work.