Now, when I came on to Washington to begin my job, I was so interested in photography at that time that I really would have preferred to work with Stryker than with my department, which was more artistic if you wish.

Shahn’s examination of the status quo inspired his creative process. Similarly Shahn’s New Deal art for the FSA and Resettlement Agency exposed American living and working conditions. Shahn defended his choice to employ pictorial realities rather than abstract forms.

He is best known for his works of social realism his left-wing political views and his series of lectures publiBen Shahnd as The Shape of Content.