Ben Shahn Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Ben Shahn was a famous painter born in Kovno in 1898, who emigrated to the United States in 1906 together with his family. After working as a lithographer, he turned to painting and studied at the National Academy for Design from 1919 to 1922. Read the full biography

Ben Shahn was a famous painter born in Kovno in 1898, who emigrated to the United States in 1906 together with his family. After working as a lithographer, he turned to painting and studied at the National Academy for Design from 1919 to 1922. In the period between 1927 and 1929, he visited Europe and North Africa to further his artistic knowledge.
Shahn was particularly interested in the society of his time and began to explore art with social content. He expressed his ideals in a realistic way through a clear sign of two-dimensional definition and the use of bright, sharp colors.
In the period from 1935 to 1938, he carried out a photographic campaign on the conditions of agricultural workers commissioned by the government agency Farm Security Administration. Later, he worked in the context of the WPA-FAP, collaborating on fresco and mural projects for public buildings, including the Bronx Central Post Office in New York from 1938-39 and the Social Security Building in Washington from 1940-42.
Shahn has also created numerous posters and book illustrations. After 1948, he began to explore themes of Jewish tradition in his art. Among his most important writings are The Shape of Content from 1957 and The Biography of a Painting from 1966.