Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
American, 1898-1969
Ben Shahn (1898 – 1969) was a Lithuanian-born American artist. He is best known for his works of social realism, his left-wing political views, and his series of lectures published as The Shape of Content. 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. Shahn mixed different genres of art. His body of art is distinctive for its lack of traditional landscapes, still lifes, and portraits. Shahn used both expressive and precise visual languages, which he coalesced through the consistency of his authoritative line. Shahn is also noted for his use of unique symbolism, which is often compared to the imagery in Paul Klee's drawings. His art is striking but also introspective. He often captured figures engrossed in their own worlds. Although he used many mediums, his pieces are consistently thoughtful and playful.(Biography provided by ArtWise)
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Artist: Ben Shahn
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. I Have A Dream, Black Portrait Head Civil Rights Activist
By Ben Shahn
Located in Union City, NJ
BEN SHAHN - Martin Luther King, Jr. - I Have A Dream is a limited run, plate signed, commemorative lithograph recreated after the wood engraving by Stefan Martin(1936 - 1994), an American wood engraver and illustrator. Printed using traditional lithography methods in 1981 on fine quality, archival Somerset printmaking paper, 100% acid free. Features a striking black and white portrait head portraying the fine wood engraved image of civil rights leader - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. along with text from his famed inspirational, I’ve been to the mountaintop’ speech. Printed signatures of Ben Shahn in dark reddish brown ink and Martin Luther King Jr. in gray ink. (see Photos) Artists copyright text printed...
Category
1980s Contemporary Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
The First Word of Verse Arises from the Rilke Portfolio, lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: The First Word of Verse Arises from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed in the plate
Edition: 750
Siz...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
To Roads in Unknown Places from the Rilke Portfolio, lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: To Roads in Unknown Places from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed in the plate
Edition: 750
Size: 2...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
To Parents One Had to Hurt from the Rilke Portfolio, lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: To Parents One Had to Hurt from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed in the plate
Edition: 750
Size: 2...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Of Light, White Sleeping Women from the Rilke Portfolio, lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Of Light, White Sleeping Women in Childbed from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed in the plate
Edit...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Screams of Women in Labor from the Rilke Portfolio, lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Screams of Women in Labor from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed in the plate
Edition: 750
Size: 22...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Frontispiece from the Rilke Portfolio, Minimalist lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Frontispiece (Portrait) from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed in the plate
Edition: 750
Size: 22.5...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Unexpected Meetings from the Rilke Portfolio, Minimalist Lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Unexpected Meetings from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed in the plate
Edition: 750
Size: 22.5 x 1...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Many Things from the Rilke Portfolio, Minimalist lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Many Things from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed in the plate
Edition: 750
Size: 22.5 x 17.75 in....
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Many Cities from the Rilke Portfolio, Minimalist lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Many Cities from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed in the plate
Edition: 750
Size: 22.5 x 17.75 in....
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
original lithograph
By Ben Shahn
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. This lithograph was printed in 1955 for the "Improvisations" portfolio, and published by the Artists Equity Association of New York in an edition of 2000...
Category
1950s Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
original lithograph
By Ben Shahn
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. This lithograph was printed in 1955 for the "Improvisations" portfolio, and published by the Artists Equity Association of New York in an edition of 2000...
Category
1950s Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
original lithograph
By Ben Shahn
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. This lithograph was printed in 1955 for the "Improvisations" portfolio, and published by the Artists Equity Association of New York in an edition of 2000...
Category
1950s Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
In Rooms Withdrawn and Quiet from the Rilke Portfolio, lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, Lithuanian/American (1898 - 1969)
Title: In Rooms Withdrawn and Quiet from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Richard de Bas, printed signature (...
Category
1960s American Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
original lithograph
By Ben Shahn
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. This lithograph was printed in 1958 for the "Improvisations" portfolio, published by the Artists Equity Association of New York on the occasion of the 19...
Category
1950s Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
original lithograph
By Ben Shahn
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. This lithograph was printed in 1954 for the "Improvisations" portfolio, published by the Artists Equity Association of New York on the occasion of the 19...
Category
1950s Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
original lithograph
By Ben Shahn
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. This lithograph was printed in 1954 for the "Improvisations" portfolio, published by the Artists Equity Association of New York on the occasion of the 19...
Category
1950s Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
The Sea Itself from the Rilke Portfolio, Minimalist lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: The Sea Itself from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed in the plate
Edition: 750
Size: 22.5 x 17.75 ...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
WARNING! Register*Vote, INFLATION means DEPRESSION
By Ben Shahn
Located in Fairlawn, OH
WARNING! Register*Vote, INFLATION means DEPRESSION
Photo lithograph, 1946
Signed in the image lower left
Published by CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations) before their merger w...
Category
1940s American Realist Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Offset
Man Sounding Horn (Psalm 150)
By Ben Shahn
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Man Sounding Horn (Psalm 150)
Lithograph, 1969-1970
Estate signed: "Ben Shahn/by B.B. Shahn" in pencil lower center
Stamped signature lower right (see photo)
Signed by Mourlot Lith. in pencil lower right (see photo)
Edition: 125 (67/125) see photo
Psalm 150, "A Hallelujah Chorus"
Published by Kennedy Graphics, Ltd., New York, NY
Printed by Mourlot Graphics, Ltd., New York, NY
Reference: Prescott 255
Kennedy Galleries, The Kennedy Graphics, 380, reproduced
Condition: Very good
Image/sheet size: 20 1/8 x 25 3/8 inches
A posthumous print
"This was the final project completed by Ben Shahn (1898-1969), leading American realist painter and muralist widely recognized for his socially conscious works. Born in Lithuania to Jewish parents, Shahn emigrated to the United States in 1906 and became a popular and versatile artist who worked in a variety of media and on a range of projects. His credits are as varied as assistant to muralist Diego Rivera, photographer for the Resettlement Administration (alongside the likes of Dorothea Lange and his friend, Walker Evans), maker of posters for the Office of War Information during WWII, and commercial artist for CBS. He is best known, however, for artwork depicting left-leaning political ideals and highlighting social concerns, such as his series of gouache paintings known as "The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti...
Category
1960s American Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Many Men from the Rilke Portfolio, Minimalist lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, Lithuanian/American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Many Men from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Richard de Bas, signed in the plate
Edition Size: 750
S...
Category
1960s American Realist Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Silkscreen with Old Testament Psalm 57 pencil signed 255/300 provenance letter
By Ben Shahn
Located in New York, NY
Ben Shahn
Silkscreen inspired by Old Testament Psalm 57, 1967
Silkscreen on Japon paper
Hand signed and numbered 255/300 by the artist on the front, with a copy of the provenance let...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Screen, Pencil
Ben Shahn McCarthy Peace
By Ben Shahn
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Ben Shahn McCarthy Peace poster, 1968.
When Eugene McCarthy ran for U.S. president in 1968 against incumbent Lyndon Johnson, his candidacy was based on ...
Category
1960s Pop Art Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Unexpected Meetings from the Rilke Portfolio, Lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Unexpected Meetings from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Richard de Bas, signed i...
Category
1960s Expressionist Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Partings Long Seen Coming from the Rilke Portfolio
By Ben Shahn
Located in Mount Vernon, NY
The Rilke Portfolio by Ben Shahn contained 24 prints from the Atelier Mourlot in New York. The Munn Collection offers 7 unframed lithographs from the o...
Category
1960s American Realist Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Atelier Mourlot by Ben Shahn, 1968
By Ben Shahn
Located in New York, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn
Medium: Original Lithographic poster, 1968
Dimensions: 28 x 21 in, 71 x 53 cm
Arches Paper - Perfect Condition A+
This original lithographic poster by Ben Shahn was created to promote the opening of the Atelier Mourlot...
Category
1960s Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Ben Shahn Original Hand Signed Litho WPA Artist Rilke Poem Lithograph Portfolio
By Ben Shahn
Located in Surfside, FL
"To Days of Childhood That are Still Unexplained". It depicts six female silhouette figures in long dresses or coats against a blue and pastel purple background. From the Rainier Ma...
Category
1950s American Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Culture
By Ben Shahn
Located in New York, NY
Ben Shahn created this 1968 serigraph entitled “CULTURE” in black ink with red calligraphy. This is an UNSIGNED impression. Provenance; Shahn estate, private collector, The Old Print Shop...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Screen
Blind Botanist
By Ben Shahn
Located in New York, NY
This 1963 lithograph, printed in color, is a fine example of Ben Shahn’s long preoccupation with the theme of the blind botanist and illustrates his con...
Category
Late 20th Century Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Ben Shahn Original Lithograph From Portfolio - Levana & Our Ladies Of Sorrow
By Ben Shahn
Located in Surfside, FL
SCARCE EARLY WORK. BEN SHAHN
Levana and our Lady's Sorrows.
lithograph printed in sepia on Papier Ancien, 1931. 13 1/8x9 7/8 inches (sheets), full margins, loose as issued.
One of o...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
One Must Know the Animals from the Rilke Portfolio, Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: One Must Know the Animals from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph, signed in the plate
Edition: 750
Size: 22.5 x 17.7...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
To Childhood Illnesses from the Rilke Portfolio
By Ben Shahn
Located in Mount Vernon, NY
The Rilke Portfolio by Ben Shahn contained 24 prints from the Atelier Mourlot in New York. The Munn Collection offers 7 unframed lithographs from the o...
Category
1960s American Realist Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Ben Shahn Original Lithograph From Portfolio - Levana & Our Ladies Of Sorrow
By Ben Shahn
Located in Surfside, FL
SCARCE EARLY WORK. BEN SHAHN
Levana and our Lady's Sorrows.
lithograph printed in sepia on Papier Ancien, 1931. 13 1/8x9 7/8 inches (sheets), full margins, loose as issued.
One of o...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Ben Shahn Original Lithograph From Portfolio - Levana & Our Ladies Of Sorrow
By Ben Shahn
Located in Surfside, FL
SCARCE EARLY WORK. BEN SHAHN
Levana and our Lady's Sorrows.
lithograph printed in sepia on Papier Ancien, 1931. 13 1/8x9 7/8 inches (sheets), full margins, loose as issued.
One of o...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Memories of Many Nights of Love from the Rilke Portfolio
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, Lithuanian/American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Memories of Many Nights of Love from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Richard de Bas, printed signatur...
Category
1960s American Realist Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Ben Shahn Original Lithograph From Portfolio - Levana & Our Ladies Of Sorrow
By Ben Shahn
Located in Surfside, FL
SCARCE EARLY WORK. BEN SHAHN
Levana and our Lady's Sorrows.
lithograph printed in sepia on Papier Ancien, 1931. 13 1/8x9 7/8 inches (sheets), full margins, loose as issued.
One of o...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Of Light, White Sleeping Women in Childbed from the Rilke Portfolio
By Ben Shahn
Located in Mount Vernon, NY
The Rilke Portfolio by Ben Shahn contained 24 prints from the Atelier Mourlot in New York. The Munn Collection offers 7 unframed lithographs from the o...
Category
1960s American Realist Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Ben Shahn Original Lithograph From Portfolio - Levana & Our Ladies Of Sorrow
By Ben Shahn
Located in Surfside, FL
SCARCE EARLY WORK. BEN SHAHN
Levana and our Lady's Sorrows.
lithograph printed in sepia on Papier Ancien, 1931. 13 1/8x9 7/8 inches (sheets), full margins, loose as issued.
One of o...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Many Cities from the Rilke Portfolio
By Ben Shahn
Located in Mount Vernon, NY
The Rilke Portfolio by Ben Shahn contained 24 prints from the Atelier Mourlot in New York. The Munn Collection offers 7 unframed lithographs from the o...
Category
1960s American Realist Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Levana
By Ben Shahn
Located in New York, NY
This elegant Ben Shahn lithograph entitled “Levana” was created in 1966. It was printed by Gemini G. E. L., Los Angeles, California, in an editi...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Skowhegan, Wood Engraving by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, Lithuanian/American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Skowhegan
Year: 1965
Medium: Wood Engraving, signed in pencil
Edition: 200 (unnumbered)
Image Size: 9 x 8 inches
Size: 16 ...
Category
1960s American Realist Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Woodcut
Screams of Woman in Labor
By Ben Shahn
Located in Mount Vernon, NY
The Rilke Portfolio by Ben Shahn contained 24 prints from the Atelier Mourlot in New York. The Munn Collection offers 7 unframed lithographs from the o...
Category
1960s American Realist Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Many Cities from the Rilke Portfolio, Framed Lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Many Cities from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Richard de Bas, signed in the plate
Edition: 750
Size: 22.5 x ...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Halleluja Portfolio by Ben Shahn, 24 Lithographs in Portfolio Case
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
The Hallelelujah Portfolio by Ben Shahn Illustrating the 150th Psalm from the Old Testament of the Holy Bible. Including an introduction by Bernarda Bryson Shahn and with a letter f...
Category
1970s Expressionist Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
IMMIGRANT FAMILY
By Ben Shahn
Located in Portland, ME
Shahn, Ben. IMMIGRANT FAMILY. Serigraph, 1941. Prescott 2. Edition size unknown; Prescott knew of only 3. This copy unsigned. 11 1/2 x 18 inches (image), 19 1/4 x 25 1/4 (sheet), fra...
Category
1940s Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Screen
"Two Days of Childhood That are Still Unexplained, " Litho signed by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Two Days of Childhood That are Still Unexplained" from "For the Sake of a Single Verse" is an original lithograph signed in the lower right by the artist Ben Shahn. It depicts six female figures in long coats. One group is silhouetted in blue and the other in a pastel purple.
22 1/2" x 17 5/8" art
32 3/4" x 28" frame
Ben Shahn (American, September 12, 1898 - March 14, 1969) was a painter, lithographer, and photographer best known for his left-wing political leanings, works of social realism, and The Shape of Content, a publication of his lectures. Shahn was born in Kovno, Lithuania, when the country was still occupied by the Russian Empire. In 1902, Shahn's father, Joshua Hessel, was exiled to Siberia. Shahn then moved to Vilkomir, Lithuania, with his mother, Gittel, and his two siblings. Their family moved to the United States in 1906 to join their father who had fled from exile. After settling in Brooklyn, NY, Shahn began to train in lithography and graphic design, and his favorite medium was egg tempera. In 1919, Shahn enrolled in New York University to study Biology before entering the City College in 1921 to study Art. He also studied Art at the National Academy of Design. In the 1920s, Shahn and his wife traveled around Africa and Europe to study the works of renowned artists such as Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881- 1973) and Raoul Dufy (French, 1877-1953).
In 1933, Shahn worked as an assistant of Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886 - 1957); at this time, Rivera was working on the mural at the Rockefeller Center in New York. Two years later, Shahn was recommended by Walker Evans (American, 1903 - 1975) to join the Farm Security Administration photographic group. One of the artist’s most famous works is the fresco mural he did for the Jersey Homesteads' community center. Shahn also worked on murals for the state on the Federal Security Building and the Bronx Central Annex Post Office.
During the Second World War, Shahn made a series of paintings laced...
Category
1960s American Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Paris Review, Lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Paris Review
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Arches, Signed in black crayon, numbered in pencil
Edition: 200
Paper Size: 39 x 26 in....
Category
1960s American Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
To Days of Childhood from the Rilke Portfolio, Lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, Lithuanian/American (1898 - 1969)
Title: To Days of Childhood from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Richard de Bas, signed in the plate
Edition...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Beside the Dead from the Rilke Portfolio, Lithograph by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Beside the Dead from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph, signed in the plate
Edition: 750
Size: 22.5 x 17.75 in. (57....
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Partings Long Seen Coming from the Rilke Portfolio
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Partings Long Seen Coming from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph on Richard de Bas, si...
Category
1960s American Realist Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
PORTRAIT OF SACCO AND VANZETTI.
By Ben Shahn
Located in Portland, ME
Shahn, Ben. PORTRAIT OF SACCO AND VANZETTI. P.32. Serigraph in black,
1958. Edition unspecified; Prescott knew of 55 copies. Printed on
Japan paper...
Category
Mid-20th Century Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Screen
Beside the Dying from the Rilke Portfolio, Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ben Shahn, American (1898 - 1969)
Title: Beside the Dying from the Rilke Portfolio
Year: 1968
Medium: Lithograph, signed in the plate
Edition: 750
Size: 22.5 x 17.75 in. (57...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
"Beside the Dying, " an Original Lithograph signed by Ben Shahn
By Ben Shahn
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Beside the Dying" is an original signed lithograph by Ben Shahn. This print is from the series "For the Sake of a Single Verse" and depicts the head of a man in dark gray seemingly asleep or dead on a white background. It is signed lower right and is edition 27/200.
22" x 17" art
32 3/8" x 27 3/8" frame
Ben Shahn (American, September 12, 1898 - March 14, 1969) was a painter, lithographer, and photographer best known for his left-wing political leanings, works of social realism, and The Shape of Content, a publication of his lectures. Shahn was born in Kovno, Lithuania, when the country was still occupied by the Russian Empire. In 1902, Shahn's father, Joshua Hessel, was exiled to Siberia. Shahn then moved to Vilkomir, Lithuania, with his mother, Gittel, and his two siblings. Their family moved to the United States in 1906 to join their father who had fled from exile. After settling in Brooklyn, NY, Shahn began to train in lithography and graphic design, and his favorite medium was egg tempera. In 1919, Shahn enrolled in New York University to study Biology before entering the City College in 1921 to study Art. He also studied Art at the National Academy of Design. In the 1920s, Shahn and his wife traveled around Africa and Europe to study the works of renowned artists such as Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881- 1973) and Raoul Dufy (French, 1877-1953).
In 1933, Shahn worked as an assistant of Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886 - 1957); at this time, Rivera was working on the mural at the Rockefeller Center in New York. Two years later, Shahn was recommended by Walker Evans (American, 1903 - 1975) to join the Farm Security Administration photographic group. One of the artist’s most famous works is the fresco mural he did for the Jersey Homesteads' community center. Shahn also worked on murals for the state on the Federal Security Building and the Bronx Central Annex Post Office.
During the Second World War, Shahn made a series of paintings laced...
Category
1960s Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Of light, white, sleeping women in childbed - For the Sake of A Single Verse
By Ben Shahn
Located in Kansas City, MO
Ben Shahn
From Portfolio "For the Sake of A Single Verse by Rainer Maria Rilke"
Year: 1968
Lithograph on Richard de Bas hand-made paper
...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Screams of women in labor - For the Sake of A Single Verse by Rainer Maria Rilke
By Ben Shahn
Located in Kansas City, MO
Ben Shahn
From Portfolio "For the Sake of A Single Verse by Rainer Maria Rilke"
Year: 1968
Lithograph on Richard de Bas hand-made paper
Edition: 750
Size: 22.5 x 17.75 inches
Signed in the stone
COA included
Publisher: Atelier Mourlot, LTD, New York
Typography: The Spinal Press
Provenance: Private Collection Kansas City, MO
--------------------
Ben Shahn:
"I had now long ago found in Rilke the passage that came to mean so much to me. He was a writer about the processes of art who was not telling me what to do, what to think, how to paint. No; he was too engrossed in his own discoveries. He was sharing with me the doubts and the hesitations of art, the probings, the slow emergence of forms. His every line of writing was art, and yet such art was inseparable from its life content. No manifesto could ever tell me more clearly than this one paragraph of Rilke's that art is an emanation from a person; that it is shaped and formed out of the shape and form of that person. In being so acutely personal to him it achieves also a rare universality. Rilke is speaking, (is he not?) to the innermost recesses of the consciousness, an area in which we spend so much of our time and expend so much of our feeling, and yet an area that is so remote from communication with our fellow-beings, an area that is, unhappily, increasingly remote from the reaches of art."
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Ben Shahn (September 12, 1898 – March 14, 1969) was a Lithuanian-born American artist. He is best known for his works of social realism, his left-wing political views, and his series of lectures published as The Shape of Content.
Shahn was born in Kaunas, Lithuania, then part of 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. 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. His younger brother drowned at age 17. 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.
Although Shahn attended New York University as a biology student in 1919, he went on to pursue art at City College in 1921 and then at the National Academy of Design. After his marriage to Tillie Goldstein in 1924, the two traveled through North Africa and then to Europe, where he made "the traditional artist pilgrimage." There he studied great European artists such as Henri Matisse, Raoul Dufy, Georges Rouault, Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee. Contemporaries who would make a profound impact on Shahn's work and career include artists Walker Evans, Diego Rivera and Jean Charlot.
Shahn was dissatisfied with the work inspired by his travels, claiming that the pieces were unoriginal. Shahn eventually outgrew his pursuit of European modern art, and redirected his efforts toward a realist style which he used to contribute to social dialogue.
The twenty-three gouache paintings of the trials of Sacco and Vanzetti...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
For the Sake of A Single Verse by Rainer Maria Rilke
By Ben Shahn
Located in Kansas City, MO
Ben Shahn
For the Sake of A Single Verse by Rainer Maria Rilke
Portfolio of 3 Lithographs on Richard de Bas hand-made paper in Original ...
Category
1960s Modern Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph
Ben Shahn prints and multiples for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Ben Shahn prints and multiples available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Ben Shahn in lithograph, screen print, offset print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Ben Shahn prints and multiples, so small editions measuring 9 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of David Klein, Luigi Bartolini, and Ernest Tino Trova. Ben Shahn prints and multiples prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $150 and tops out at $8,500, while the average work can sell for $750.
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Questions About Ben Shahn Prints and Multiples
- What style of art is Ben Shahn?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertFebruary 7, 2024The style of art of Ben Shahn is social realism. Artists working in this movement sought to highlight social issues by depicting scenes that showed the struggles of modern-day life. For example, Shahn produced four paintings and more than 100 drawings inspired by a 1947 mining accident that killed 111 people in Centralia, Illinois. Arguably the most famous of these works is Miner's Wives, which shows the widows of the miners in mourning. On 1stDibs, shop a variety of Ben Shahn art.