People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art

A lyrically told, exquisitely illustrated biography of influential Jewish artist and activist Ben Shahn

“The first thing I can remember,” Ben said, “I drew.”
As an observant child growing up in Lithuania, Ben Shahn yearns to draweverything he sees—and, after seeing his father banished by the Czarfor demanding workers’ rights, he develops a keen sense of justice, too.
So when Ben and the rest of his family make their way to America, Benbrings both his sharp artistic eye and his desire to fight for what’sright. As he grows, he speaks for justice through his art—by disarmingclassmates who bully him because he’s Jewish, by defying his teachers’insistence that he paint beautiful landscapes rather than true stories,by urging the US government to pass Depression-era laws to help peoplefind food and jobs.
In this moving and timely portrait,award-winning author Cynthia Levinson and illustrator Evan Turk honor anartist, immigrant, and activist whose work still resonates today: atrue painter for the people.

Weight: 568g
Dimension: 263 x 262 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781419741302