Timeline
The life and career of Ben Shahn, 1898–1969
Born in Kovno, Russian Empire (now Kaunas, Lithuania), on September 12
Emigrates with his family to the United States, settling in Brooklyn, New York
Exhibits "The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti," his breakthrough series of social-realist gouaches
Assists Diego Rivera on the controversial Rockefeller Center mural in New York
Joins the Resettlement Administration (later the FSA) under Roy Stryker, recommended by Walker Evans, and photographs the South
Paints the Jersey Homesteads fresco for the planned community later named Roosevelt, New Jersey
Photographs small-town life in Ohio, including Circleville, county fairs, and the Buckeye Lake amusement park
Completes murals for the Bronx Central Annex Post Office in New York
Paints a mural for the Social Security Building in Washington and produces posters for the Office of War Information
The Museum of Modern Art presents a major retrospective of his work
Represents the United States at the Venice Biennale alongside Willem de Kooning
Serves as Charles Eliot Norton Professor at Harvard; the lectures appear in 1957 as "The Shape of Content"
Dies in New York City on March 14
Explore by Decade
1930s
1847 photographs from the 1930s
1940s
180 photographs from the 1940s
