Tuesday, June 19, 2012
The 100 Greatest Brooklynites of All Time: 90 to 81
Posted by The Editors on Tue, Jun 19, 2012 at 10:01 AM
Page 4 of 11
Is Ben Shahn the original Williamsburg artist, working a day job to support his art habit? Well, kind of. Born in Lithuania to “politically active” parents (not a good thing to be in Czarist Russia) little seven-year-old Ben and the whole family got the hell of the Baltics in 1908 and—eye roll—moved to Williamsburg, a solid 90 years before it was cool. Shahn went on to become one of the best crossover artists of the 20th century, moving effortless between fine art and editorial work, just like the thousands of graphic designers currently wandering around Williamsburg. Though renowned as one of America’s great social-realists (his series on Sacco and Vanzetti is wonderful), Shahn’s most viewed work was probably his Martin Luther King Jr. portrait on the cover of Time.
More by The Editors
-
Your One-Stop, Mostly Serious Guide to Brooklyn Parenting
Plus much, much more, like how to deal with your friends who are having kids when you very much are not.
- Apr 17, 2013
- More »
