About the work

Harkening back to his Jewish roots, William Gropper published in 1970 a series of twenty-four color lithographs on Jewish village life called The Shtetl. Speaking of his work, Gropper wrote, “I react to life and it’s a stimulant to me. It could be a phase, it could be an attitude, it could be a mood. It’s broad. I’m open for any little thing, but I am of a period. I come from a sort of humanistic element. I love people and when I draw or paint, it comes out.”

His comments about The Shtetl were particularly poignant:

“These lithographs are personal. For that matter all art is personal.

“I am still looking for my roots. I think most artists look for a home, a wall, a place in a society of people.

“I suppose it is a desire for recognition, of belonging–forever searching, for reason, for faith, confusion, continuity, a name, . . . . a voice.

“A voice from the dim past. A far off land — a village and people that no longer exists, but a faint memory. . . .”

This lithograph has a special provenance, coming from the collection of the artist’s niece. It is one of the twenty artist’s proofs which preceded the edition of 120.

This lithograph was hand-pulled at the Bank Street Atelier, Ltd., New York.

This work is unframed but professional framing is available at discounted cost with little delay. Please contact us if you wish to have the work framed before delivery.