Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Preview image of work. black ink on paper, Butcher 32727

2017.8.10

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Butcher

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Artist

Ben Shahn (Kaunas, Lithuania, 9/12/1898 - 3/14/1969, New York City, New York)

Title

Butcher

Creation Date

ca. 1955

Century

mid-20th century

Dimensions

27 x 19 in. (69 x 48 cm)

Object Type

drawing

Creation Place

North America, United States

Medium and Support

black ink on paper

Credit Line

Gift of halley k harrisburg, Class of 1990, and Michael Rosenfeld

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Accession Number

2017.8.10

Shahn was a Lithuanian-American who fled the Russian Empire as a child and grew up in New York. As an artist and photographer he was heavily influenced by the social realism of Diego Rivera and Walker Evans. He often depicted immigrant workers. Shahn worked alongside labor unions creating posters and imagery advocating for their work. Under the Works Progress Administration, Shahn travelled to rural Ohio to photograph the effects of the Depression on small-town life. Many of the photographs Shahn created while in Ohio became inspiration for his later paintings. This drawing of a butcher reflects Shahn's interest in the depiction of working Americans.