Ben Shahn was a radical artist — why didn't he want to be called a Jewish one?

Ben Shahn was a radical artist — why didn't he want to be called a Jewish one?

In the companion catalogue to Ben Shahn, On Nonconformity, a new retrospective of the social realist artist’s work at the Jewish Museum in Manhattan, we learn he didn’t like being called a “Jewish artist.” That he found the label limiting is no wonder. In a 50-year career, Shahn proved to be one of the most fluid of American artists. His work, in graphic design, magazine covers, museum works, posters, municipal murals and street photography show…