A painting of a group of people standing in front of a brick wall.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The painting shows a group of men and women standing in an open space in front of a brick wall which runs along the left side of the painting. The painting joins a fence in the center, the fence runs along the background to the right side. The tops of trees are visible against a dark blue sky with white streaks. The group is crowded together in a small space, only the heads and faces of most are visible. Some have their arms raised, their hands clasped in a fist.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2011.12
People
Ben Shahn, American (Kovno (now Kaunas), Lithuania 1898 - 1969 New York, NY)
Title
Demonstration
Other Titles
Series/Book Title: The Mooney Case, 1932-1933
Classification
Paintings
Work Type
painting
Date
1933
Places
Creation Place: North America, United States, New York State, New York City
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/192893

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Gouache on paper mounted to masonite
Dimensions
image: 40.1 x 56.3 cm (15 13/16 x 22 3/16 in.)
framed: 58 × 74.6 × 2.5 cm (22 13/16 × 29 3/8 × 1 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: l.l. in red paint: Ben Shahn
  • inscription: recto, lower left, red gouache, English, signed, in artist's hand: Ben Shahn

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Ben Shahn, created 1933; by descent to Judith Shahn and Ezra Shahn; [James Reinish & Associates, Inc., NYC], sold; to Harvard Art Museums, 2011.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Richard Norton Memorial Fund
Copyright
© Estate of Ben Shahn / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Accession Year
2011
Object Number
2011.12
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Exhibition History

  • Ben Shahn: Cross Media Artist, Photograph, Painting and Graphic Art, The Museum of Modern Art, Hayama, Kanagawa, 12/03/2011 - 01/29/2012; Nagoya City Art Museum, Nagoya, 02/11/2012 - 03/25/2012; The Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art, Okayama-shi, 04/08/2012 - 05/20/2012
  • Recent Acquisitions, Part II: Building the Collection, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/19/2012 - 09/29/2012
  • 32Q: 1320 Social Realism, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 04/29/2015
  • Shahn, Mooney, and the Apotheosis of American Labor, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 07/22/2018 - 11/25/2018

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu