The Shape of Content by Ben Shahn, 1957 [1st Edition, Harvard University Press]

The Shape of Content by Ben Shahn, 1st. ed., 1957. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Hardcover, 6.25 x 9.25, pp. 131. Dust jacket and (35) black and white expressive illustrations by the American artist, Ben Shahn (1898–1969).

In his 1956–1957 Charles Eliot Norton Lectures, the Russian-born American painter Ben Shahn sets down his personal views of the relationship of the artist—painter, writer, composer—to his material, his craft, and his society. He talks of the creation of the work of art, the importance of the community, the problem of communication, and the critical theories governing the artist and his audience.

Shahn was perhaps best known for his social realism, left-wing political views, and this book with six essays/chapters (some say controversial) including: Artists in Colleges; The Biography of a Painting; The Shape of Content; On Nonconformity; Modern Evaluations; and The Education of an Artist.

“... so melodically written you’d swear you were listening to a live narration ... I urge you to find and order a copy.” — Steven Heller, The Daily Heller, 2014

A good orange cloth hardcover in its’ original, dust jacket with small tears and chips to the edges and corners. Some paper loss to the back corner and top edge. A faintly cracked hinge with the free front endpaper removed. Now in protective archival mylar. Reprinted multiple times until approx. 1992; still relevant!