Ben Shahn
Blind Botanist
1963

Name: Blind Botanist
Brand: Ben Shahn
Price: 2100 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

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 concern with what he called “The paradox of man’s goals.” Printed by A. Manaranche, Fernand Mourlot, Paris, in an edition circa 200. Signed in red paint, lower right. "A. Manaranche Grav. Lith." lower left. The paper size is 26 3/4 x 20 1/2". This recurring image of the “Blind Botanist” appears in different drawings, paintings, and prints by Shahn. In one printed version Shahn included a quotation from the “Micrographia” (1664) by Robert Hooke. “So many are the links, upon which : the true philosophy depends, of which : If one be loose or weak, the whole chain is in : danger of being dissolved; it is to begin with the : Hands and the Eyes; and proceed on the memory : to be continued by the reason; nor is it to : stop there, but to come to come to the Hands and Eyes again…” BEN SHAHN (1898 - 1969) printmaker, painter, muralist, was born in Kovno, Lithuania in 1898. He arrived in the United States in 1908 with his family and settled in Brooklyn. He was apprenticed to a lithographer after finishing elementary school at the age of fourteen. As an apprentice, he spent long hours of work grinding and lettering stones. He once stated that he made "thousands and thousands of letters." It is fortunate that he liked the history of alphabets because he would use them throughout his artistic career. During his lifetime, he loved to draw, paint, and make prints. Often the subject of a drawing became a print and/or a painting. Shahn believed in hard work and craftsmanship - qualities that would stay with him throughout his career. In 1931 Shahn published his first lithographs in a portfolio format. His first individual print was produced in 1936. He is well known for his social imagery of the Civil Rights Movement and posters showing the horrors of World War II. He produced over 249 prints during his life.

Creator:

Ben Shahn (1898-1969, American)

Creation Year:

1963

Dimensions:

Height: 26.75 in (67.95 cm)Width: 20.5 in (52.07 cm)

Medium:

Lithograph

Movement & Style:

Modern

Period:

Late 20th Century