hexagon icon
On View

Ben Shahn, On Nonconformity

May 23 – Oct. 26, 2025
Free with Admission

The Jewish Museum presents the first U.S. retrospective in nearly half a century dedicated to social realist artist and activist Ben Shahn (1898-1969).

Ben Shahn, On Nonconformity examines the prolific and progressive artist’s commitment to chronicling and confronting crucial issues of his era, spanning from the Great Depression to the Vietnam War, as well as his exploration of spirituality and Jewish texts. Featuring 175 artworks and objects from the 1930s to the 1960s, including paintings, mural studies, prints, photographs, commercial designs, and ephemera, the exhibition highlights the enduring relevance of Shahn’s art across media, while revealing new insights into the complexity of his aesthetic and his decisive shift from documentary to allegorical and poetic styles in pursuit of a visual language that would resonate widely.

The exhibition draws its title from Ben Shahn’s credo of “nonconformity,” which the artist asserted as an indispensable precondition for both significant artistic production and all great societal change. This philosophy is centered in the exhibition as the foundational thread that runs through the artist’s oeuvre, which investigates issues such as unemployment, discrimination, authoritarianism, and threats to freedom of expression, while championing labor, civil, and human rights. Shahn’s later spiritual work, which embraces the Hebrew language and biblical stories, also reflects his exploration of a tradition of social justice activism within Jewish culture.

In the Press

 

Ben Shahn, On Nonconformity was organized by Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, and adapted by the Jewish Museum, New York. The New York exhibition is curated by Dr. Laura Katzman, Professor of Art History at James Madison University, in collaboration with Dr. Stephen Brown, Curator at the Jewish Museum. Dr. Katzman also served as guest curator of the recent Ben Shahn exhibition in Madrid. The exhibition at the Jewish Museum is designed by Chelsea Garunay with graphic design by Poliana Duarte.

Ben Shahn, On Nonconformity is supported by The Centennial Fund, The Horace W. Goldsmith Exhibitions Endowment Fund, The Skirball Fund for American Jewish Life Exhibitions, the Sudarsky Family Foundation, and other generous donors.

Painting of nine Supreme Court justices seated behind a dark wooden bench, set against a textured blue and purple background with tall white columns.

Ben Shahn, Integration, Supreme Court, 1963, tempera on paper mounted on masonite, 35 ½ x 47 ½ in. (90.2 x 120.7 cm.) Des Moines Art Center Permanent Collections; Purchased with funds from the Edmundson Art Foundation, Inc., 1964.6. © 2025 Estate of Ben Shahn / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Exhibition highlights

  • Painting of three children swinging from ropes attached to a pole and a damaged building, set against a background of rubble and a partially destroyed apartment facade with exposed colorful interiors.

    Ben Shahn, Liberation, 1945, gouache on board, 29 3/4 x 40 in. (75.6 x 101.4 cm.) The Museum of Modern Art, New York. James Thrall Soby Bequest, 1980. © 2025 Estate of Ben Shahn / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

  • Abstract artwork featuring layered geometric shapes, swirling lines, and Hebrew text at the bottom, with a background of soft blue and purple tones.

    Ben Shahn, Where Wast Thou?, 1964, opaque watercolor and gold leaf on paper mounted on masonite, 51 3/4 x 42 in. (131.5 x 106.7 cm.) Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas. © 2025 Estate of Ben Shahn / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

  • Painting of three solemn men in formal attire, two wearing top hats and one in academic robes, standing beside two open coffins with sculpted heads, in front of a building with columns and portraits.

    Ben Shahn, The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti, 1931–32, tempera on canvas mounted on composition board, 84 × 48 in. (213.4 × 121.9 cm.) Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Gift of Edith and Milton Lowenthal in memory of Juliana Force, 49.22. © 2025 Estate of Ben Shahn / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

  • Painting of three men standing near a train yard, with boxcars on one side and rows of houses on the other, set under a cloudy sky; one man leans against a pole with posters behind him.

    Ben Shahn, Scotts Run, West Virginia, 1937, tempera on paper mounted on wood, 22 ⅝ x 28 ¼ in. (57.5 x 71.8 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, 38.11. © 2025 Estate of Ben Shahn / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

  • Painting of a man in a white tank top and cap standing in front of a tree with red fruit, with one arm resting on machinery and laundry hanging in the background.

    Ben Shahn, Harvesting Wheat [study for The Meaning of Social Security mural, Washington, D.C.], 1941, Buon fresco on wallboard, 33 x 44 ½ in. (83.8 x 113 cm). D. Wigmore Fine Art, Inc., New York.