Jack Levine: American Social Realist

Jack Levine - The Patriarch of Moscow on a Visit to Jerusalem - 1975 - Oil on canvas - 213.2 x 237 cm (84 x 96 in.) - Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection (click photo for larger image)American painter Jack Levine (1915-2010) was a Social Realist, who became well-known for his satirical paintings on modern life, political corruption, and biblical narratives. Born of Lithuanian Jewish parents, Levine grew up in the South End of Boston. He was part of the WPA program established by FDR, and he served in the Army during WWII. Levine loathed the abstract art that was so heavily touted in his day, and drew inspiration instead from such masters as Titan and Velázquez. In their New York Times obituary, he was described as “...an unrepentant and much-admired realist artist whose crowded history paintings skewered plutocrats, crooked politicians and human folly.”