William Gropper Figurative Prints
American, 1897-1977
William Gropper was a painter and cartoonist who, with caricature style, focused on social concerns. Gropper was born on December 3, 1897, in New York. William Gropper was a student of Robert Henri and George Bellows at the Ferrer School from 1912–15. During the 1930s, working as a part of the Federal Arts Project, he produced some of the most gripping social protest works of the Great Depression. His subjects included industrial strikes, especially in coal mining and steel-production centers. Gropper did much illustration-cartoon work for the New York Tribune newspaper, Vanity Fair magazine and the politically left-wing publication, New Masses. Some of his other pieces focused on the hypocrisy of government figures, especially members of the United States Senate. Gropper died on January 6, 1977, in Manhasset.
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Artist: William Gropper
Jewish Shtetl Klezmer Wedding Tanz Judaica Lithograph WPA Yiddish Social Realist
By William Gropper
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed in pencil and numbered with Roman numerals 8/24. A very small edition.
Old Lower East Side of New York or East European Shtetl. Jewish Shtetl Klezmer Musicians. humorous...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
Jewish Shtetl Hasidic Wedding Dance Judaica Lithograph Yiddish Social Realism
By William Gropper
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed in pencil and numbered with Roman numerals 8/24. A very small edition.
Old Lower East Side of New York or East European Shtetl. Jewish Shtetl Hasidic Klezmer Musicians. ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
Horsemen
By William Gropper
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "The Horsemen" 1935, is an original lithograph on paper by noted American artist William Gropper, 1897-1977. It is hand signed in pencil by the artist. The artwork (image) size is 9.5 x 12.75 inches, framed size is 17.5 x 20.40 inches. Published by Associated American Artists, New York, printed by George Miller. Referenced and pictured in the artist catalogue raisonne by Steinberg, page 246 and Windisch and Cole, plate #602. Custom framed in a black metal frame, with off white matting. It is in excellent condition, the frame have very minor scratches.
An example of this particular artwork is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. and at the Portland Museum, Portland.
About the artist:
William Gropper was born in New York City's Lower East Side in 1897. He was the first of six children to parents who earned small wages working in sweatshops. At the age of fourteen, Gropper left school to help support his family. While carrying bolts of cloth for his deliveries, Gropper began to draw on scraps of paper, sidewalks, and walls. A passerby saw some of these drawings and invited Gropper to attend a life-drawing class at the Ferrer School. He studied there for three years from 1912 to 1915, attending classes taught by Robert Henri and George Bellows. From 1915 to 1918 Gropper attended the New York School of Fine and Applied Art part-time on scholarship. Gropper also won a scholarship to the National Academy of Design, but remained as a student for only a short time; the rigid and systematic institution conflicted with Gropper's belief in the personal nature of art.
At the New York School of Fine and Applied Art, Gropper earned several prizes. One of these prizes was for his cartoons, which led him to be hired by the New York Tribune in 1917 to sketch for their features. A few years later through freelance work, his cartoons and drawings appeared in other newspapers and magazines, such as The Liberator, The New Masses, The New York Post, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair.
By the late 1920s Gropper was an established cartoonist and draughtsman. He sympathized with the labor movement and was a champion of peace and personal liberty. Gropper began to paint seriously, but privately, on these themes in 1921. Gropper's first exhibition of monotypes was held in 1921 at the Washington Square Book Shop in New York. At this time, he also began to do illustrations for books. Gropper took his first sketching trip in 1924 to the West with Morris Pass.
By 1930 Gropper began to receive recognition as a fine artist. In 1934, he received two mural commissions from the Schenley Corporation in New York City. In 1935, he was commissioned to paint a mural for the Hotel Taft in New York City. In 1936, Gropper received several public mural commissions: one was for the Freeport, Long Island Post Office, which was completed in 1938 and followed by another mural for the Northwestern Postal Station, Detroit, Michigan.
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 in Washington, DC. 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...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Realist William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
THE NEW BILL
By William Gropper
Located in Portland, ME
Gropper, Will1am (American, 1897-1977). THE NEW BILL. Lithograph, c. 1941. 11 3/4 x 16 inches (image), 14 x 19 inches (sheet).Titled and signed in pencil. In excellent condition.
Category
1940s William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
Sephardic Jew Fez Hat Jewish Shtetl Americana Judaica Lithograph WPA Yiddish Art
By William Gropper
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed in pencil and numbered with Roman numerals 8/24. A very small edition.
Old Lower East Side of New York or East European Shtetl. Yenta gossips in the kitchen peeling. hum...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
Jewish Shtetl Machers Americana Judaica Lithograph WPA Yiddish Social Realist
By William Gropper
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed in pencil and numbered with Roman numerals 8/24. A very small edition.
Old Lower East Side of New York or East European Shtetl. Jewish Shtetl Peddler Merchant. humorous ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
Jewish Shtetl Peddlar Americana Judaica Lithograph WPA Yiddish Social Realist
By William Gropper
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed in pencil and numbered with Roman numerals 8/24. A very small edition.
Old Lower East Side of New York or East European Shtetl. Jewish Shtetl Peddler Merchant. humorous ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
Jewish Shtetl Peddlar Americana Judaica Lithograph WPA Yiddish Social Realist
By William Gropper
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed in pencil and numbered with Roman numerals 8/24. A very small edition.
Old Lower East Side of New York or East European Shtetl. Jewish Shtetl Peddler Merchant. humorous ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
Women, Dishes, Shtetl Americana Judaica Lithograph WPA Social Realist Artist
By William Gropper
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed in pencil and numbered with Roman numerals 8/24. A very small edition.
Old Lower East Side of New York or East European Shtetl. Orthodox Jewish Rabbi having a glass of t...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
Rabbi, Cup of Tea, Shtetl Americana Judaica Lithograph WPA Social Realist Artist
By William Gropper
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed in pencil and numbered with Roman numerals 8/24. A very small edition.
Old Lower East Side of New York or East European Shtetl. Orthodox Jewish Rabbi having a glass of t...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
William Gropper, (Choral Group)
By William Gropper
Located in New York, NY
An early serigraph (screen print) by William Gropper. There's a harpist to provide the music and a choir master conducting. The seated members of the group are individually drawn as ...
Category
1930s Ashcan School William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Screen
Liberated Village
By William Gropper
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Liberated Village" c. 1940, is an original lithograph on paper by noted American artist William Gropper, 1897-1977. It is hans signed and titled in pencil by the artist. The artwork (image) size is 12 x 16.5 inches, framed size is 20.25 x 24.25 inches. Custom framed in a black metal frame, with off white matting. It is in excellent condition.
An example of this particular artwork is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
About the artist:
William Gropper was born in New York City's Lower East Side in 1897. He was the first of six children to parents who earned small wages working in sweatshops. At the age of fourteen, Gropper left school to help support his family. While carrying bolts of cloth for his deliveries, Gropper began to draw on scraps of paper, sidewalks, and walls. A passerby saw some of these drawings and invited Gropper to attend a life-drawing class at the Ferrer School. He studied there for three years from 1912 to 1915, attending classes taught by Robert Henri and George Bellows. From 1915 to 1918 Gropper attended the New York School of Fine and Applied Art part-time on scholarship. Gropper also won a scholarship to the National Academy of Design, but remained as a student for only a short time; the rigid and systematic institution conflicted with Gropper's belief in the personal nature of art.
At the New York School of Fine and Applied Art, Gropper earned several prizes. One of these prizes was for his cartoons, which led him to be hired by the New York Tribune in 1917 to sketch for their features. A few years later through freelance work, his cartoons and drawings appeared in other newspapers and magazines, such as The Liberator, The New Masses...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Realist William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
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As a politically passionate, unconventional figure in the art world, William Gropper tested the limits of expression through his cartoons, murals, and oil paintings. With a preference for theme over aesthetic, Gropper believed that art should reflect the human condition and experience. Visual art became the means by which Gropper communicated his concern for labor and economic issues, making him an ideal representative of Social-Realism. Throughout his life, he would be called a radical (even being subpoenaed by Congress for communism) and would tirelessly create socially relevant art for the public.
Born to Harry and Jenny Gropper in 1897, William was raised in New York City's Lower East Side. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Romania and Ukraine, and young William grew up in relative poverty, watching his family struggle to achieve that sought-after American dream. His father, a bright and college-educated man, was unable to find employment that worthy of his intellect. His mother, meanwhile, worked as a seamstress from home. Coupled with the devastating loss of an aunt to the infamous Triangle Factory fire of 1911, significant childhood factors created the foundation that led to Gropper’s exploration of the American experience.
Early on, Gropper displayed an extraordinary, natural skill for art. By 1912, he was already studying under the instruction of George Bellows and Robert Henri at the Ferrer School in Greenwich Village. During his time at school, Gropper was also awarded a prestigious scholarship to study at the National Academy of Design. However, he refused to fit into convention and was swiftly expelled from the Academy. After his expulsion, Gropper returned home to help financially by assisting his mother and taking a shop position. However, he didn't abandon art academia and soon presented a portfolio to the New York School of Fine Art which earned him a scholarship for study.
Gropper obtained his first significant job as a cartoonist for the New York Tribune in 1917. While working as a staff cartoonist for the Tribune, he also contributed drawings to publications like Vanity Fair, New Masses, The Nation, and Freiheit. His interest in the welfare of the American worker, class inequality, and social injustice was central in his work. After publishing the graphic novel Alley Oop in 1930, Gropper's illustration career extended well into the decade. However, he was never exempt from controversy, and his 1935 Vanity Fair cartoon; prompted anger from the Japanese government.
As an involved labor organizer and activist, Gropper continued to bring attention to his radical reputation with visits to the Soviet Union and Poland. However, his concern with European politics and U.S. social causes didn't slow down his artistic career, and by the late 1930s, he had produced significant murals for American cities like Washington D.C. His 1938 mural Construction of a Dam was commissioned for the Department of the Interior and represents the Social-Realism style that depicts experiences of the worker and everyday societal life. Measuring at a staggering 27ft by 87ft, the piece portrays muscular, robust American laborers scaling rocky hillsides, building infrastructure, and operating heavy machinery. The mural feels undeniably American with golden scenery, denim blues, and steely gray colors. Gropper fits perfectly into Social-Realism because the style exhibits an illustrative flair with strong lines and simple, bold hues.
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Old Lower East Side of New York or East European Shtetl. Jewish Shtetl Hasidic Klezmer Musicians. humorous Yiddish Chassidic art.
The New-York born artist William Gropper was a painter and cartoonist who, with caricature style, focused on social concerns, and was actively engaged in support of the organized labor movement throughout his career. This original color lithograph print is done in the iconic style of the artist's oeuvre.
Born to Harry and Jenny Gropper in 1897, William was raised in New York City's Lower East Side. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Romania and Ukraine, and young William grew up in relative poverty, watching his family struggle to achieve that sought-after American dream. His father, a bright and college-educated man, was unable to find employment that worthy of his intellect. His mother, meanwhile, worked as a seamstress from home. Coupled with the devastating loss of an aunt to the infamous Triangle Factory fire of 1911, significant childhood factors created the foundation that led to Gropper’s exploration of the American experience.
Early on, Gropper displayed an extraordinary, natural skill for art. By 1912, he was already studying under the instruction of George Bellows and Robert Henri at the Ferrer School in Greenwich Village. During his time at school, Gropper was also awarded a prestigious scholarship to study at the National Academy of Design. However, he refused to fit into convention and was swiftly expelled from the Academy. After his expulsion, Gropper returned home to help financially by assisting his mother and taking a shop position. However, he didn't abandon art academia and soon presented a portfolio to the New York School of Fine Art which earned him a scholarship for study.
Gropper obtained his first significant job as a cartoonist for the New York Tribune in 1917. While working as a staff cartoonist for the Tribune, he also contributed drawings to publications like Vanity Fair, New Masses, The Nation, and Freiheit. His interest in the welfare of the American worker, class inequality, and social injustice was central in his work. After publishing the graphic novel Alley Oop in 1930, Gropper's illustration career extended well into the decade. However, he was never exempt from controversy, and his 1935 Vanity Fair cartoon; prompted anger from the Japanese government.
As an involved labor organizer and Social Realist activist, Gropper continued to bring attention to his radical reputation with visits to the Soviet Union and Poland. However, his concern with European politics and U.S. social causes didn't slow down his artistic career, and by the late 1930s, he had produced significant murals for American cities like Washington D.C. His 1938 mural Construction of a Dam was commissioned for the Department of the Interior and represents the Social-Realism style that depicts experiences of the worker and everyday societal life. Measuring at a staggering 27ft by 87ft, the piece portrays muscular, robust American laborers scaling rocky hillsides, building infrastructure, and operating heavy machinery. The mural feels undeniably American with golden scenery, denim blues, and steely gray colors. Gropper fits perfectly into Social-Realism because the style exhibits an illustrative flair with strong lines and simple, bold hues.
The inspiration for Construction of a Dam sprang from his 1937 travels to the poverty-stricken Dust Bowl area. The trip was sponsored by a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and his drawings of the Grand Coulee and Boulder Dams...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
THE SHTETL
By William Gropper
Located in Portland, ME
Gropper, William. THE SHTETL. Suite of 24 color lithographs, 1970. Portfolio with title page, justification page and 24 color lithographs each signed in pencil and inscribed "Artist'...
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Lithograph
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By William Gropper
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed in pencil and numbered with Roman numerals 8/24. A very small edition.
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Hand signed in pencil and numbered with Roman numerals 8/24. A very small edition.
Old Lower East Side of New York or East European Shtetl. Jewish Shtetl Hasidic Klezmer Musicians. humorous Yiddish Chassidic art.
The New-York born artist William Gropper was a painter and cartoonist who, with caricature style, focused on social concerns, and was actively engaged in support of the organized labor movement throughout his career. This original color lithograph print is done in the iconic style of the artist's oeuvre.
Born to Harry and Jenny Gropper in 1897, William was raised in New York City's Lower East Side. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Romania and Ukraine, and young William grew up in relative poverty, watching his family struggle to achieve that sought-after American dream. His father, a bright and college-educated man, was unable to find employment that worthy of his intellect. His mother, meanwhile, worked as a seamstress from home. Coupled with the devastating loss of an aunt to the infamous Triangle Factory fire of 1911, significant childhood factors created the foundation that led to Gropper’s exploration of the American experience.
Early on, Gropper displayed an extraordinary, natural skill for art. By 1912, he was already studying under the instruction of George Bellows and Robert Henri at the Ferrer School in Greenwich Village. During his time at school, Gropper was also awarded a prestigious scholarship to study at the National Academy of Design. However, he refused to fit into convention and was swiftly expelled from the Academy. After his expulsion, Gropper returned home to help financially by assisting his mother and taking a shop position. However, he didn't abandon art academia and soon presented a portfolio to the New York School of Fine Art which earned him a scholarship for study.
Gropper obtained his first significant job as a cartoonist for the New York Tribune in 1917. While working as a staff cartoonist for the Tribune, he also contributed drawings to publications like Vanity Fair, New Masses, The Nation, and Freiheit. His interest in the welfare of the American worker, class inequality, and social injustice was central in his work. After publishing the graphic novel Alley Oop in 1930, Gropper's illustration career extended well into the decade. However, he was never exempt from controversy, and his 1935 Vanity Fair cartoon; prompted anger from the Japanese government.
As an involved labor organizer and Social Realist activist, Gropper continued to bring attention to his radical reputation with visits to the Soviet Union and Poland. However, his concern with European politics and U.S. social causes didn't slow down his artistic career, and by the late 1930s, he had produced significant murals for American cities like Washington D.C. His 1938 mural Construction of a Dam was commissioned for the Department of the Interior and represents the Social-Realism style that depicts experiences of the worker and everyday societal life. Measuring at a staggering 27ft by 87ft, the piece portrays muscular, robust American laborers scaling rocky hillsides, building infrastructure, and operating heavy machinery. The mural feels undeniably American with golden scenery, denim blues, and steely gray colors. Gropper fits perfectly into Social-Realism because the style exhibits an illustrative flair with strong lines and simple, bold hues.
The inspiration for Construction of a Dam sprang from his 1937 travels to the poverty-stricken Dust Bowl area. The trip was sponsored by a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and his drawings of the Grand Coulee and Boulder Dams...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
Jewish Shtetl Klezmer Wedding Tanz Judaica Lithograph WPA Yiddish Social Realist
By William Gropper
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed in pencil and numbered with Roman numerals 8/24. A very small edition.
Old Lower East Side of New York or East European Shtetl. Jewish Shtetl Klezmer Musicians. humorous Yiddish art.
The New-York born artist William Gropper was a painter and cartoonist who, with caricature style, focused on social concerns, and was actively engaged in support of the organized labor movement throughout his career. This original color lithograph print is done in the iconic style of the artist's oeuvre.
Born to Harry and Jenny Gropper in 1897, William was raised in New York City's Lower East Side. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Romania and Ukraine, and young William grew up in relative poverty, watching his family struggle to achieve that sought-after American dream. His father, a bright and college-educated man, was unable to find employment that worthy of his intellect. His mother, meanwhile, worked as a seamstress from home. Coupled with the devastating loss of an aunt to the infamous Triangle Factory fire of 1911, significant childhood factors created the foundation that led to Gropper’s exploration of the American experience.
Early on, Gropper displayed an extraordinary, natural skill for art. By 1912, he was already studying under the instruction of George Bellows and Robert Henri at the Ferrer School in Greenwich Village. During his time at school, Gropper was also awarded a prestigious scholarship to study at the National Academy of Design. However, he refused to fit into convention and was swiftly expelled from the Academy. After his expulsion, Gropper returned home to help financially by assisting his mother and taking a shop position. However, he didn't abandon art academia and soon presented a portfolio to the New York School of Fine Art which earned him a scholarship for study.
Gropper obtained his first significant job as a cartoonist for the New York Tribune in 1917. While working as a staff cartoonist for the Tribune, he also contributed drawings to publications like Vanity Fair, New Masses, The Nation, and Freiheit. His interest in the welfare of the American worker, class inequality, and social injustice was central in his work. After publishing the graphic novel Alley Oop in 1930, Gropper's illustration career extended well into the decade. However, he was never exempt from controversy, and his 1935 Vanity Fair cartoon; prompted anger from the Japanese government.
As an involved labor organizer and Social Realist activist, Gropper continued to bring attention to his radical reputation with visits to the Soviet Union and Poland. However, his concern with European politics and U.S. social causes didn't slow down his artistic career, and by the late 1930s, he had produced significant murals for American cities like Washington D.C. His 1938 mural Construction of a Dam was commissioned for the Department of the Interior and represents the Social-Realism style that depicts experiences of the worker and everyday societal life. Measuring at a staggering 27ft by 87ft, the piece portrays muscular, robust American laborers scaling rocky hillsides, building infrastructure, and operating heavy machinery. The mural feels undeniably American with golden scenery, denim blues, and steely gray colors. Gropper fits perfectly into Social-Realism because the style exhibits an illustrative flair with strong lines and simple, bold hues.
The inspiration for Construction of a Dam sprang from his 1937 travels to the poverty-stricken Dust Bowl area. The trip was sponsored by a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and his drawings of the Grand Coulee and Boulder Dams...
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Jewish Shtetl Klezmer Musicians Judaica Lithograph WPA Yiddish Social Realist
By William Gropper
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed in pencil and numbered with Roman numerals 8/24. A very small edition.
Old Lower East Side of New York or East European Shtetl. Jewish Shtetl Klezmer Musicians. humorous...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
Jewish Shtetl Groise Macher Judaica Lithograph WPA Yiddish Social Realist Print
By William Gropper
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed in pencil and numbered with Roman numerals 8/24. A very small edition.
Old Lower East Side of New York or East European Shtetl. Jewish Shtetl Peddler Merchant. humorous ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern William Gropper Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph
William Gropper figurative prints for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic William Gropper figurative prints available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of figurative prints to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of yellow and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by William Gropper in lithograph, screen 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 William Gropper figurative prints, so small editions measuring 11 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of M.F. Husain, Antoni Clavé, and Nahum Tschacbasov. William Gropper figurative prints prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $400 and tops out at $1,100, while the average work can sell for $500.