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Ben ShanAmerican artist
Date of Birth: 12.09.1898
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Ben Shahn
Early Life and EducationBen Shahn was an American artist who was born in Lithuania and later immigrated to the United States. His father was involved in the revolutionary movement in Russia and was exiled to Siberia in 1902. In 1906, Shahn's family moved to New York. He initially studied lithography and then attended various drawing courses and the National Academy of Design.
Introduction to Photography
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Shahn, along with his friend Walker Evans, set up a studio where Evans introduced him to photography. Many of Shahn's photographs taken on the streets of New York served as inspiration for his paintings and murals. He also incorporated newspaper photographs into his work.
The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti
One of Shahn's most socially engaged series was "The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti," created between 1931 and 1932. This series of 25 paintings depicted the unjust conviction and execution of two anarchist workers, presenting it as a monstrous repetition of Christ's Passion in the bourgeois society of the 20th century. This work brought Shahn international recognition. In 1932, the Whitney Museum of American Art selected one of his paintings for its first biennial, and he was invited to participate in an exhibition of mural painting organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Later Career
In 1933, Shahn assisted Diego Rivera in creating a mural at the Rockefeller Center (which was destroyed before completion due to controversy surrounding a portrait of Lenin). In later years, Shahn's works were exhibited at Documenta 2, 3, and 6, contemporary art exhibitions held in the German city of Kassel in 1959, 1964, and 1977 respectively.
