The Phillips Collection presents “William Gropper: Artist of the People,” the first exhibition in the District dedicated to the early 20th-century political cartoonist, painter and printmaker.
Featuring more than 40 paintings, cartoons, and caricatures, the exhibition reveals Gropper’s biting commentary on human rights, class, labor, freedom, democracy and the fallacies behind the American dream. The exhibition spans the artist’s most prolific years and reconstructs his political critiques and commitment to social justice for a contemporary audience.
The exhibition is on view from Oct. 17 through Jan. 5.
The son of impoverished immigrants from Romania and Ukraine, Gropper grew up poor on the Lower East Side of New York City’s Manhattan borough. Witnessing the daily injustices faced by the working class during his formative years instilled in him a sympathy for marginalized communities, which greatly influenced his direction as an artist.
Gropper contributed thousands of incisive illustrations to Vanity Fair and the New York Tribune, as well as to more radical papers like the New Masses, Rebel Worker, and Morning Freiheit.
“Gropper was a fierce, lifelong social justice advocate who used art to advocate for a better world. He believed strongly that artists be given a ‘free hand’ to reveal hard truths,” says Elsa Smithgall, Phillips chief curator and exhibition curator. “In addition to his scathing social and political commentary, Gropper also turned to folk heroes and popular imagery from contemporary American discourse to portray optimistic scenes of his vision for an egalitarian society.”