I was brought in, not in the photographic department at all, I was brought in on a thing called Special Skills. I was to do posters, pamphlets, murals, propaganda in general, you know.

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.