~ The Discussion Guide (PeoplesPainter_Teachingguide_2P) is fabulous! Thank you, Annette Y. Goldsmith.
~ Read these interviews with Evan Turk and me for the backstory on how I wrote and he illustrated The People’s Painter:
~ Watch a video of me where I read part of The People’s Painter and talk about drawing for justice.
~ Watch a video of Evan describing how he illustrated Ben Shahn’s world in The People’s Painter.
~ See many of Evan’s preliminary sketches, like these.
~ And here’s a sample of final art.
~ Now, learn about Ben’s life and art.
Vilkomir
Ben Shahn was born in Kovno, Lithuania in 1898. After his father was sent to Siberia, Ben and his mother and siblings moved to Vilkomir (now called Ukmerge). The village looked something like this. (Thank you to Lyudmila Sholokhova and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research for these images.)
The Depression
In the 1930s, the Farm Security Administration sent Ben throughout parts of America to take photographs of people in need. Here are some examples, available at the Library of Congress. Can you find illustrations similar to these in The People’s Painter?
Sacco and Vanzetti
This painting is one of 23 that Ben drew of these men, who many people believe were falsely accused of murder. It can be seen at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Do you see a similar image in the book?
Jersey Homesteads and the New Deal
Ben was hired to paint a fresco in the community center, which is now an elementary school, in Jersey Homesteads (now Roosevelt), New Jersey. He and Bernarda liked the town so much, they moved there. Contemporary photographs are available at the New Jersey Digital Highway and at The Living New Deal. Here is the fresco; more information is available at the Roosevelt Arts Project. Look for Evan’s illustration of this triptych in our book.
Judaica
Ben created a Passover Haggadah, a stained glass installation for a synagogue, and many works that incorporated Hebrew. Here are a couple of examples.
The 1960s
Here are some examples of Ben’s work promoting the civil rights and peace movements. Evan evoked similar images in The People’s Painter. See if you can find them.
~ See other works by Ben at the National Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art.
~ Study these text sets, along with The People’s Painter, that were compiled by Dr. Mary Ann Cappiello at Lesley University:
- New Deal artists text set:
- Public art text set:
- Russian artists text set:
- New York artists text set:
