A different lens on Ben Shahn's work

Ben Shahn sent shock waves through the art world in the 1930s. Shahn, who emigrated to the United States from czarist Russia as a child, became famous for his politically charged paintings, murals, and satires. His photographs, until now, have received little attention.

An exhibition at Harvard University offers a glimpse of these photos. The show highlights the importance of Shahn's photography as source material for some of his most famous paintings and as social commentary in its own right. Poverty, unemployment, and race are some of the topics addressed in the images.

"Ben Shahn's New York: the Photography of Modern Times" is at Harvard's Arthur Sackler Museum in Cambridge, Mass., until April 30. Then it will travel to Washington D.C., New York, and Chicago.

A tour schedule and an online exhibit are available at: www.artmuseums.harvard.edu

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