The American artist Ben Shahn (1898–1969) is someone whose work I have always greatly admired. He also had a profound influence on many artists and illustrators surfacing during the 1950s/60s, from Peter Blake to David Hockney, Bob Gill, Michael Foreman and a great many more as you will see below. His eccentric composition, non-conventional figure drawing and densely rich colour palette give his work a unique and powerful presence.
1938
1934
He gravitated towards left-wing politics and produced a lot of work centred on social realism, depicting unemployment, migration, organised labour and injustice. One could say that he was the visual counterpart to the writer John Steinbeck. He was also responsible for producing posters for the US Office of War Information.
Through his work, Shahn wanted to connect directly with people, rather than employing the more abstract forms of art surfacing in the US during the 1950s.
But, for me, his pen-and-ink line illustrations were the most beautiful. His seemingly hesitant and jagged style was adopted by many.
Now here are some examples of the work from many artists and illustrators that have clearly been inspired by the magic of Ben Shahn.
Ben Shahn
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Terence Greer 1963
Ben Shahn 1955
Michael Foreman 1961
Ken Sequin 1968
Jim Russell 1960's
Ben Shahn 1934
Bob Gill 1965
Bob Gill 1960's
Bob Gill 1960's
Ben Shahn 1939
Peter Blake 1955
Peter Blake 1965
Peter Blake 1960
Seymour Chwast 1961
Isadore Seltzer 1961
Ben Shahn 1939
Ben Shahn 1939
Bernard Perlin 1948
Robert Weaver 1963
Carol Annand 1964
Shahn also had a great love of hand-drawn lettering and calligraphy, and these additional gifts of his were often used in combination with his illustration and painting work.