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Head of Robert Oppenheimer

Creator: Ben Shahn
Offered by: Schillay Fine Art, Inc.

Description
Ben SHAHN
(1898-1969)

Head of Robert Oppenheimer

Ink and Brush
17 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches
25 x 19 inches, framed
signed lower right
drawn 1955

PROVENANCE:
Dr. and Mrs. Harrold Gifford
Private Collection, New York

EXHIBITED:
Joslyn Art Museum, From Private Collections

Ben Shahn emigrated to the United States in 1906. After working in lithography until 1930, his style crystallized in a series of 23 paintings concerning the Sacco-Vanzetti trial, among them The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti (Whitney Mus., New York City). Shahn dealt consistently with social and political themes. He developed a strong and brilliant sense of graphic design revealed in numerous posters. His painting Vacant Lot (Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Conn.) exhibits a poetic realism, whereas his more abstract works are characterized by terse, incisive lines and a lyric intensity of color. The Blind Botanist (Wichita Art Mus.) is characteristic of his abstractions. Shahn's murals include a series for the Bronx Central Annex Post Office, New York City. From 1933 to 1938 he worked as a photographer for the Farm Security Administration, producing masterful images of impoverished rural areas and their inhabitants. Shahn's later works are concerned with the loneliness of the city dweller.

More Information

Documentation:	Signed
Origin:	United States
Period:	1950-1979
Materials:	Ink and Brush
Condition:	Good.
Creation Date:	1955
Styles / Movements:	Realism, Other
Incollect Reference #:	671635

Dimensions

W.	12.5 in;	H.	17.5 in;
W.	31.75 cm;	H.	44.45 cm;

Message from Seller:

Schillay Fine Art, Inc. and Richard Schillay have carried on and expanded the art dealing tradition begun by Richard’s father, M. Edwin Schillay. For decades after World War II, M. Edwin Schillay was the foremost dealer of 19th century British art. He spearheaded the introduction to America of Victorian paintings on a large scale. Today Schillay Fine Art has greatly expanded its interests and offering -- well into the fields of Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Modern, and Post-War art.