Object number1979.4.1

Puddlers' Sunday

Datec. 1937-1938

Artist Ben Shahn (American, 1898-1969)

CultureAmerican

MediumTempera on paper, mounted to board

DimensionsUnframed: 16 x 23 7/8 in. (40.6 x 60.6 cm)
Framed: 22 13/16 x 30 11/16 x 2 3/4 in. (58 x 78 x 7 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Hackett (Frances Goodrich, class of 1912)

On View

Not on view

Period20th c

Classification(s)

Painting

SignedSigned lower right: Ben Shahn

InscribedOn reverse, by unidentified hand(s), upper left in pencil: 135; upper right in black crayon: L43.787 / 38[circled and crossed out] / 35[circled]; lower center in pencil: 135[circled]; within Downtown Gallery label, in pencil: 1937; typed: BEN SHAHN / PUDDLER'S SUNDAY / Tempera; within Museum of Modern Art loan label, typed: 43.30 / Levy; within unidentified label, typed: TR 7458/85

BibliographyNobuyuki, Okabe. Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College. Japan: Yamagata Museum of Art, 2008, cat. no. 42; Katzman, Laura, et al. Madrid; Ben Shahn on Nonconformity, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia exhibition catalogue, 2023, p. 40; Fagg, John. “Ben Shahn and Jacob Lawrence: Beyond Genre Painting.” In Re-Envisioning the Everyday: American Genre Scenes, 1905-1945. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2023, p. 159-197 Katzman, Laura, et al. New York; Ben Shahn on Nonconformity, The Jewish Museum exhibition catalogue. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2025, p. 40 ProvenanceJulien Levy Gallery. James Thrall Soby; through exchange to The Downtown Gallery, New York, November 29, 1944; purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Albert Hackett, March 28, 1945

Vassar Exhibitions

Paris-New York: Modernist Painting in 19th and 20th century Masterworks from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College

Work and Workers in America 1900-40

American Stories 1800-1950

Exhibition HistorySunday Paintings, Julien Levy Gallery, New York, NY, 1940;

American Realists and Magic Realists, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, February 10 - March 21, 1943;

Nardin Gallery, New York, NY, February 20, 1979 - March 20, 1979;

Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York; Shimane Art Museum, Matsue, Japan, March 7 - May 11, 2008; Ishibashi Museum of Art, Fukuoka, May 17 - July 20, 2008; Yamagata Museum of Art, Yamagata, Japan, July 30 - August 31, 2008; Fuchu Art Museum, Fuchu, Japan, September 6 - November 3, 2008; Miyazaki Prefectural Art Museum, Miyazaki, Japan, November 14 - December 14, 2008;

American Stories 1800 - 1950, Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, January 29 - April 17, 2016

Ben Shahn on Nonconformity, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain, October 4, 2023 - February 26, 2024;
Ben Shahn, On Nonconformity, The Jewish Museum, New York, NY, May 23 - October 26, 2025
DescriptionColor depiction of a men standing on a dirt road in small groups wearing slacks, button up shirts, and hats. In the midground is a black car with an Ohio license plate reading "F48GZ / OHIO 1937" and in the background is a flat landscape with grasses and a few trees interspersed throughout. The work is rendered in a detailed manner but with simplified forms.

Terms

men (male humans)

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu