Items Similar to "Witness" WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Social Realism Modern Political
- Design Credit: Kacy Ellis, Photo Credit: Wynn Myers. Dimensions: H 18 in. x W 14 in.
- Design Credit: Jeremiah Brent Design, Photo Credit: Nicole Franzen. Dimensions: H 18 in. x W 14 in.
- Design Credit: Sarah Shetter, Photo Credit: Boris Breuer. Dimensions: H 18 in. x W 14 in.
- Want more images or videos?Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 7
William Gropper"Witness" WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Social Realism Modern Political1930s/40s
1930s/40s
$4,600
About the Item
"Witness" WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Social Realism Modern Political. 17 1/2 x 14 inches. Signed lower right. Unframed.
This drawing is published in the William Gropper monograph by Louis Lozowick, The Art Alliance Press, 1983.
Provenance: Estate of the artist.
BIO
William Gropper (1897- 1977)
Throughout his life, William Gropper used his artistic talents to protest social injustice. Born in New York City, he grew up there in poverty and left high school to work as a dishwasher and delivery boy. He eventually began a career in art and was able to study with Robert Henri and George Bellows from 1912 to 1915. He adopted their realistic painting style, and his own work expressed sympathy for common laborers and outrage at society's ills.
In 1919 Gropper established a reputation as a political cartoonist working for the New York Tribune. His blunt, forceful style attracted the attention of other publications, and he provided illustrations and cartoons for a variety of magazines, from the left-wing New Masses to mainstream Vanity Fair. Like many social realist artists of the 1930s, Gropper supported liberal political causes, depicting subjects such as the plight of migrant laborers and striking factory workers.
In his first gallery exhibition in 1936 at ACA Galleries, Gropper's work was so well received by critics, collectors, and artists that the following year he had two one-man exhibitions at ACA Galleries. In 1937, Gropper traveled west on a Guggenheim Fellowship and visited the Dust Bowl and the Hoover and Grand Coulee Dams, sketching studies for a series of paintings and a mural he painted for the Department of the Interior. That same year he had paintings purchased by both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art.
Gropper exhibited at the 1939 New York World's Fair, Whitney Museum of American Art (1924-55), Art Institute of Chicago (1935-49), Carnegie International (1937-50), Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1939-48), and National Academy of Design (1945-48). He was a founder of the Artists Equity Association and member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters.
From 1940 to 1945 William Gropper was preoccupied with anti-Nazi cartoons, pamphlets, and war bond posters. In 1943 he was selected by the War Department Art Advisory Committee to go to Africa and make a pictorial record of the war front there. In 1944 he participated in the exhibition Artists for Victory at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, winning first prize in lithography.
During the 1950s Gropper was attacked for his refusal to cooperate with the McCarthy Committee and the effect was an end to his exhibitions and commissions. Gropper’s last exhibition was in 1971.
- Creator:William Gropper (1897 - 1977, American)
- Creation Year:1930s/40s
- Dimensions:Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Width: 14 in (35.56 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Framing:Framing Options Available
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1156210962812
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
1stDibs Buyer Protection Guaranteed
If your item arrives not as described, we’ll work with you and the seller to make it right. Learn More
About the Seller
5.0
Gold Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are highly rated and consistently exceed customer expectations.
Established in 2008
1stDibs seller since 2019
139 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: <1 hour
More From This SellerView All
- Fortune Magazine cover Depression-Era Illustration, WPA industrial ModernistBy Ernest Hamlin BakerLocated in New York, NYFortune Magazine cover, Depression-Era Illustration, WPA industrial Modernist. Signed lower left. The drawing measures 13. x 11 inches. Framed by Bark, the work is 23 x 20 inches. ...Category
1930s American Modern Interior Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsInk, Gouache, Board
- "The Knockout" Boxing Sports American Watercolor WPA Mid-Century Modern 30s/40sBy Robert RiggsLocated in New York, NY"The Knockout" Boxing Sports American Watercolor WPA Mid-Century Modern 30s/40s. Known for his paintings of prize-fighting and circus-genre scenes and lithography of gigantic size c...Category
1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor
- "Animated Discourse" WPA Mid-Century American Scene Modernism Realism FigurativeLocated in New York, NY"Animated Discourse" WPA Mid-Century American Scene Modernism Realism Figurative. Chris Ritter (American, 1906 – 1976) "Animated Discourse," 19 x 24 (sight). Watercolor on paper. Si...Category
1940s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor
- Mural Studies, Palace of Fine Arts San Francisco WPA American Modernism 1930sBy Frank Van SlounLocated in New York, NYMural Studies, Palace of Fine Arts San Francisco WPA American Modernism 1930s. 9 x 12 inches. Tempera on paper, c. 1936. Authenticated and signed verso by the artist’s sister, Kathe...Category
1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Egg Tempera
- Deco Dancing Hungarian Expressionism European Drawing Modernism Figurative DanceBy Hugó ScheiberLocated in New York, NYDeco Dancing Hungarian Expressionism European Drawing Modernism Figurative Dance. 22 1/2 x 16 inches. Signed lower left. Framed. BIO Hugó Scheiber was born in Budapest in 1873. At t...Category
1920s Art Deco Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Gouache
- Meryl Streep John Lithgow "Secret Service" 1976 Off Broadway Theatre CaricatureLocated in New York, NYMeryl Streep, John Lithgow and others starred in the Phoenix Theatre Company's Off-Broadway production of "Secret Service." This original 14 x 29 inch drawing by Sam Norkin was publi...Category
1970s Performance Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsInk, Gouache, Board
$6,000 Sale Price20% Off
People Also Browsed
- Philip Evergood American Modernism WPA Social Realism Modern Still Life InteriorBy Philip EvergoodLocated in New York, NYInterior with Man at Table American Modernism WPA Social Realism Modern Painting Philip Evergood (1901 - 1973) Untitled (Interior with Man at Table), c. 1932, oil on panel, 11 1/2 x...Category
1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings
MaterialsOil, Panel
- "Golddigger," Isaac Friedlander, WPA, New York City, Social Realism, 1931By Isaac FriedlanderLocated in Wiscasset, MEIsaac Friedlander was born in 1890 in Mitau, Latvia. He studied painting and printmaking at the Academy of Rome—the only formal art training he would ever have. After the overthrow o...Category
1930s Realist Figurative Prints
MaterialsEngraving
- Strike Breakers — social realism, Great DepressionBy Daniel Ralph CelentanoLocated in Myrtle Beach, SCDaniel Ralph Celentano, Untitled (Strike Breakers) pencil, c. 1934. Signed, lower right. A fine, social-realist drawing, on cream wove paper, with margins (1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches), in...Category
1930s American Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPencil
- Strike WPA Depression Era Social Realism Modern Mid 20th Century American SceneBy William GropperLocated in New York, NYStrike WPA Depression Era Social Realism Modern Mid 20th Century American Scene. The canvas measures 17 1/2 x 26 inches. Signed lower left. BIO William Gropper (1897- 1977) Througho...Category
1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Wedding (Authenticated Clementine Hunter Framed Black Folk Art Painting)Located in New Orleans, LAIf you have been watching the prices of Clementine Hunter's work over the past two years, you will know that they have soared to astronomical heights. Attached is the auction record...Category
1960s Folk Art Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil
You May Also Like
- (Industry)Located in New York, NYThis drawing could also be titled "Foundry." Two men, in work clothes, are on other side of a trough of molten metal. In the distance, a third man, in heavy-duty protective gear, lea...Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsGouache
$1,200 - (Wounded Soldiers)Located in New York, NYWhile this is a World War II drawing, the barbed wire recalls the tranches of the First World War. A menacing tank at the upper left dominates the scene. There is a black border and...Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsGouache
$1,200 - The VoyeurLocated in San Francisco, CAThis artwork "The Voyeur" c.1980 is a watercolor on heavy watercolor paper by California artist Charlotte Huntley. It is signed at the lower left corner by the artist. The size is 29...Category
Late 20th Century American Modern Interior Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsWatercolor
- gravesend, oler woman w city scape window yellow tonesBy Stephen BassoLocated in Brooklyn, NYPastel on toned paper *ABOUT Stephen Basso Stephen Basso's highly original pastels and oil paintings are romantic, yet thought provoking fantasies. His whimsical works are alive ...Category
2010s American Modern Interior Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Pastel
- Artist and Model in the Studio, Graphite Drawing, Mid 20th CenturyBy Martin SnipperLocated in San Francisco, CAThis mid 20th century graphite on paper drawing is by San Francisco North Beach artist Martin Snipper (1914-2008). Snipper studied at the National Academy of Art in New York and exh...Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Graphite
- Draped Nude Figure in Graphite, 1960-1961By Hugh WileyLocated in San Francisco, CAThis 1960-1961 graphite on paper figure is by Northern California artist Hugh Wiley (1922-2013). Wiley studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and in Mexico City under C...Category
1960s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Graphite
Recently Viewed
View MoreThe 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Trusted Global Delivery
More Ways To Browse
American Modern 1930
Mid Modern American Paintings
American Scene
American Wpa
Vintage 40s Art
Wpa Modern
Wpa Modern Art
40s Modern
Modern Realism
American Realism
American Realism Art
1930s Wpa
Wpa Drawing
American Realism Figurative Paintings
Mid Century Realism
Realism Painting Mid Century
American Realism Wpa
Realism Watercolor