WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Ben Shahn

Ben Shahn

Ben Shahn

1898

WA-00009584

PhotographyExpressionismRealismSocial Realism

Representation

None documented

86

Institutional Exhibitions

262

Works in Collection

511

Assets Indexed

2

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (2)

WikidataQ695239

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Painters for the Theater

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1989

No image

The Modern Poster

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1988

No image

Committed to Print

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1988

No image

American Prints: 1900�1960; Recent Acquisitions: Illustrated Books

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1985–1986

No image

Recent Acquisitions: Drawings

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1981

No image

A Penthouse Aviary

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1980–1981

No image

Gifts of Drawing

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1979

No image

Artists and Writers

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1978

No image

Extraordinary Men

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1977

No image

Posters by Painters

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1977

No image

Prints: Acquisitions, 1973�1976

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1976–1977

No image

Between World Wars: Drawing in Europe and America

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1976

Field Verification (2 fields)

1 cross-verified · 1 single-source

Birth yearArtsy· 85%✓
NationalityArtsy· 85%

Source Registry (2)

Museum
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/5366
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Ben Shahn was an American artist. He is best known for his works of social realism, his left-wing political views, and his series of lectures published as The Shape of Content.

Source: Museum · Trust score: 100% · Updated 2mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Expressionism

Medium

Photography

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Museum of Modern ArtNew York Cleveland Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Tate Whitney Museum of American Art

Canonical record

Artworks (262)

The Dreyfus Affair: The Ben Shahn Prints

1984 · Illustrated book with eight pochoir reproductions after watercolors

page 15 3/16 x 12 1/16" (38 x 30.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

MANY MEN, plate II (folio 12) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in color

irreg composition 17 5/16 x 14 15/16" (44 x 38 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

THE FIRST WORD OF VERSE ARISES, plate XXII (folio 72) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in black

irreg composition 16 1/4 x 13 7/16" (41.3 x 34.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

MORNINGS BY THE SEA, plate XIV (folio 48) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in color

irreg composition 19 15/16 x 17 3/16" (50.7 x 43.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

MANY CITIES, plate I (folio 9) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in black

irreg composition 16 15/16 x 14 5/8" (43.1 x 37.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Headpiece (folio 6) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in black

irreg composition 9 1/8 x 11 9/16" (23.2 x 29.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

THE GESTURES OF THE LITTLE FLOWERS, plate VI (folio 24) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in color

irreg composition 17 3/16 x 14 5/16" (43.6 x 36.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

MANY THINGS, plate III (folio 15) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in black

irreg composition 16 1/2 x 13 5/8" (41.9 x 34.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

OF LIGHT, WHITE, SLEEPING WOMEN IN CHILDBED, plate XIX (folio 63) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in black

irreg composition 9 1/16 x 15 3/8" (23.1 x 39.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

THE SEA ITSELF, plate XV (folio 51) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in color

irreg composition 12 11/16 x 15 9/16" (32.3 x 39.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

NIGHTS OF TRAVEL THAT FLEW WITH THE STARS, plate XVI (folio 54) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in color

irreg composition 18 1/4 x 16 1/8" (46.3 x 40.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

ONE MUST KNOW THE ANIMALS, plate IV (folio 18) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in color

irreg composition 18 9/16 x 15 5/8" (47.2 x 39.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

TO ROADS IN UNKNOWN REGIONS, plate VII (folio 27) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in color

irreg composition 19 9/16 x 16 7/16" (49.7 x 41.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

IN ROOMS WITHDRAWN AND QUIET, plate XIII (folio 45) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in color

irreg composition 22 1/4 x 17 11/16" (56.6 x 44.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

BESIDE THE DEAD, plate XXI (folio 69) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in color

irreg composition 22 1/2 x 17 11/16" (57.1 x 45 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

SCREAMS OF WOMEN IN LABOR, plate XVIII (folio 60) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in color

irreg composition 22 3/16 x 17 13/16" (56.4 x 45.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

MEMORIES OF MANY NIGHTS OF LOVE, plate XVII (folio 57) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in black

irreg composition 17 1/2 x 14 3/8" (44.4 x 36.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

HOW THE BIRDS FLY, plate V (folio 21) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in color

irreg composition 20 1/16 x 17 3/8" (51 x 44.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

BESIDE THE DYING, plate XX (folio 66) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in color

irreg composition 22 3/8 x 17 11/16" (56.9 x 44.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · 24 lithographs: 9 printed in black and 15 printed in color

page 22 7/16 x 17 13/16" (57 x 45.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Frontispiece from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in black

irreg composition 9 5/16 x 8 3/4" (23.7 x 22.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

TO CHILDHOOD ILLNESSES, plate XII (folio 42) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in color

irreg composition 21 7/16 x 17 3/8" (54.5 x 44.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

TO PARENTS ONE HAD TO HURT, plate XI (folio 39) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in black

irreg composition 15 3/16 x 12 13/16" (38.6 x 32.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

TO DAYS OF CHILDHOOD, plate X (folio 36) from FOR THE SAKE OF A SINGLE VERSE ... FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

1968 · Lithograph, printed in color

composition 22 3/8 x 17 11/16" (56.9 x 44.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

View all 262 artworks →

Artwork sources (5)

262 published of 503 catalogued · 183 with image

MoMA
241 publishedof 482 catalogued171 img
Art Institute Chicago
11 published11 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
7 published
Whitney
2 published
Tate
1 published1 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 1)

1 entries · 1 sources

Street Scene in Columbus, Ohio
1938 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

Ben Shahn (1942) The Meaning of Social Security 1

Wikimedia Commons (Instagram fallback)

Shahn wt

Wikimedia Commons (Instagram fallback)

Ben Shahn bijutsu techo 1961185

Wikimedia Commons (Instagram fallback)

Indians at work magazine july 1940 navajo lasso native americans cowboy

Wikimedia Commons (Instagram fallback)

Ben Shahn (Artsy)

Artsy

Ben Shahn (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia

Ben Shahn (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia

Relationships

9

Movements3

Expressionism Realism Social Realism

Collections6

Museum of Modern Art Cleveland Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Tate Whitney Museum of American Art Heritage Auctions

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Tate

In collection

Whitney Museum of American Art

Market

Auction sale history

Houses that have sold works by this artist at auction

Heritage Auctions

Background

Education

New York University

Visual Arts

Art Students League of New York

Visual Arts