“The Critic’s Notebook,” by the Editors

“The Critic’s Notebook,” by the Editors

Art: Ben Shahn, Harvesting Wheat, 1941, Fresco on wallboard, D. Wigmore Fine Art, Inc., New York “Ben Shahn, On Nonconformity,” at the Jewish Museum (through October 12): When the last Ben Shahn retrospective came to the Jewish Museum in 1976, Hilton Kramer criticized the progressive artist as a mere illustrator, one who was “publicizing social causes on canvas,” as his headline read. With “On Nonconformity,” Shahn’s largest stateside survey sin…