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The painter, photographer, and graphic artist Ben Shahn infused his works with a passion that made them both objects of art and political statements. In 1932, he became famous for his series of paintings on the Italian American anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti, whose trial was widely criticized for its denial of due process. Shahn, a staunch New Dealer, painted murals and took on other commissions for the government arts and public works programs during the Great Depression. In this image by magazine photographer Ronny Jaques, Shahn, a strong supporter of labor, is shown with the poster he created for the Congress of Industrial Organizations, urging workers to register to vote.
Shahn’s later work became more abstract and allegorical, although still politically charged. In his last years, he turned to religious themes, creating illustrated versions of books from the Torah.
Nacido en Kovno, Lituania
El pintor, fotógrafo y artista gráfico Ben Shahn impregnaba sus obras de una pasión que, además de arte, las convertía en manifiestos políticos. En 1932 cobró fama por su serie de pinturas sobre los anarquistas italoamericanos Sacco y Vanzetti, cuyo juicio fue ampliamente criticado violar el debido proceso de ley. Partidario ferviente del Nuevo Trato, Shahn pintó murales y aceptó otros encargos para los programas de arte y obras públicas del gobierno durante la Gran Depresión. En esta imagen del fotógrafo de revistas Ronny Jaques, Shahn, gran defensor del movimiento obrero, aparece con el cartel que hizo para el Congreso de Organizaciones Industriales, exhortando a los trabajadores a inscribirse para votar.
Su obra posterior es más abstracta y alegórica, aunque aún de fuerza política. En sus últimos años cultivó temas religiosos, creando versiones ilustradas de los libros de la Torá.