Thursday, July 31, 2008

William Gropper's America: Its Folklore, c1946













People Are My Landscape: Social Struggle in the Art of William Gropper:

Cartoonist, painter, lithographer, and muralist William Gropper was born on the Lower East Side of New York City into a working-class Jewish family that labored in the sweatshops of the garment industry. Like many of his peers–such as Philip Evergood, Joseph Hirsch, Louis Lozowick, and Anton Refregier–Gropper rebelled against the formal theories of art that were prevalent at the time. Preferring to depict the harsh reality of social injustices as they were played out in everyday life, Gropper became a defender of the working class. He was best known for his satirical portrayals of the elite and powerful and the effects of capitalism and war on American life.

via coisas do arco da velha

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting,portrayal of Americana, I really enjoy the art concepts on methods used to express early experinces for our poineering frontiers.How common are produtions of this picture, and what might its value be? If any one knows.

John M. said...

Hi Mark, thanks for stopping in.

This map brought back the history, folklore legends and tall-tales I loved in my youth (and still love). It seems like I saw this map when I was a kid, because almost all of the depictions resonate deeply with me.

I'm sure the original is highly valued but I'm not sure how widely circulated this map was or its rarity.