Ben Shahn

photographer

American^[1] b. 12 September 1898, Kovno, Russian Empire (present-day Kaunas, Lithuania)^[1,2] d. 14 March 1969, New York, New York^[1,2] active 1920–1969

Ben Shahn was a Lithuanian-born American artist known for his works of social realism. He immigrated to the United States in 1906 and became a prominent painter, graphic artist, and photographer. His work often addressed labor exploitation, political trials, and economic distress during the early 20th century. He is noted for combining realism with abstraction and for using words and quotations as formal elements in his compositions.^[1,3,4]

• social realism
• labor exploitation
• political causes