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    Ben Shahn's Sunday Paintings: Explanations for his shift from social realism to personal realism

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    Author
    Ellis, James Walter
    Date
    1999
    Degree
    Master of Arts
    Abstract
    Ben Shahn's 1940 solo exhibition of his so-called "Sunday Paintings" at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York manifested a transformation that had occurred in his art during the 1930s. Both the formal language and the subject matter of his art had changed. I explore in depth the wide variety of contextual influences (political, professional, and personal) that informed this metamorphosis. Specifically addressed is the federal government's political realignment at the end of the New Deal, a paradigm shift in the emphasis of art criticism and artistic practice, and the influence of a "photographic-aesthetic" on Shahn's paintings. In spite of the easy answers offered by critics, historians, and the artist himself, the actual reason for Shahn's new visual language was a complex set of internal and exterior factors, not always directly related, but, nevertheless, all contributors to a condition in which Shahn felt compelled to change his course.
    Keyword
    Biographies; Art history
    Citation
    Ellis, James Walter. "Ben Shahn's Sunday Paintings: Explanations for his shift from social realism to personal realism." (1999) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. https://hdl.handle.net/1911/17261.
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    • Rice University Electronic Theses and Dissertations [13409]

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    Home | FAQ | Contact Us | Privacy Notice | Accessibility Statement
    Managed by the Digital Scholarship Services at Fondren Library, Rice University
    Physical Address: 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005
    Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O.BOX 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892
    Site Map