Periods, Cultures, Styles > Social Realism
Social Realism
Building on the work of the Ashcan School and Mexican Muralism, Social Realists such as Edward Hopper, Ben Shahn, Rafael and Moses Soyer, Reginald Marsh, Aaron Douglas, Walt Kuhn, Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Doris Lee, Philip Evergood, Louis Lozowick, and William Gropper focused on the lives of working class Americans during the period known as the Great Depression. Other artists looked to rural life and the devastation of the Dustbowl including Grant Wood, and Thomas Hart Benton, and John Steuart Curry; artists who were also known as American Scene painters. Many of the these artist were supported by Depression era federal programs such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and worked on murals in public buildings across the country.
Works of Art
Artists

El Anatsui, Old Man’s Cloth, 2011, bottle caps, material, material (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)