Detail study for Great State of Wisconsin mural

Ben Shahn was an important American painter committed to the cause of social realism. This small but powerful study was made as a proposal for a mural for a planned community, Greendale, built during President Roosevelt’s New Deal southwest of Milwaukee as part of a US Department of Agriculture project to plan and build “Greenbelt Communities.” The mural was not accepted, but in Shahn’s plan would have celebrated the close relationship between farmers, city workers, the university, and the legislature. Of particular interest is the figure of the man Shahn placed above the door frame who holds a document which almost exactly quotes the “sifting and winnowing” credo that appears on a plaque on the side of Bascom Hall facing the State Capitol. On the plaque the pursuit of truth is carried out at “the great state university of Wisconsin,” but Shahn changes the text to “the great state of Wisconsin” and makes that the intended title. This painting’s close ties to the history of the University of Wisconsin and to the state make it a touchstone for discussing the core values of the university.