Ben Shahn Archive

The Ben Shahn Archive at the Fine Arts Library holds thousands of items related to the artist's work.
Scientist, by Ben Shahn, 1957. HOLLIS Record

The Fine Arts Library holds the collection of Stephen Lee Taller devoted to the American artist Ben Shahn (1898–1969).

Dr. Taller was a friend of Ezra Shahn, Ben's oldest son. The archive contains thousands of items related to the artist's work, including:

Artist Ben Shahn seated in front of his work.
Ben Shahn seated in front of his work.
  • books written by and illustrated by Ben Shahn
  • magazines in which his work was featured
  • exhibition and auction sales catalogs
  • commercial work such as book jackets, record jackets, and advertisements
  • interview transcripts
  • newspaper clippings

An image inventory in the collection attempts to record every known work by the artist.

A separate portion of the Taller Archive held by the Harvard Art Museums includes drawings and graphic work. The Museums also hold Shahn's entire archive of photographic negatives. All of those works may be viewed in the Museums' collections database.

Accessing These Materials