SHAHN, Ben. Haggadah for Passover, Copied and Illustrated by Ben Shahn. Paris: The Trianon Press, 1966.
80 leaves. Large, unbound folio in stiff, glassine covered wrappers, housed in large, vellum box, stamped with gilt lettering on front, back, and spine, with double clasp closure. Loosely inserted foam cushions at front and back of box. Includes an extra set of the coloured plates, an extra set of the uncoloured plates, and a proof state of the frontispiece in paper folders, enclosed in a linen portfolio with ties. Very clean copy.
One of 20 copies numbered I to XX, this being VII. Signed and stamped with the artist’s cypher on the frontispiece.
Ben Shahn (1898-1969) enjoyed a long career as a social realist artist and left wing visionary. Widely recognized for his murals, paintings, commercial illustrations and photography, he collaborated with Diego Rivera and undertook commissions for the Farm Security Administration. Perhaps his most famous work, the Jersey Homesteads Mural, has also been linked to the Haggadah and the themes of slavery, the struggles of immigrants, deliverance and redemption, which were important throughout his career.
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