4
Portfolios%3D%22575%22%20and%20Sort_Artist%3D%22Gropper,%20William%22
Painting
The Opposition
William Gropper, 1897 - 1977
Gropper, William
United States
1897 - 1977
Male
28 x 38 in. (71.1 x 96.5 cm)
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overall framed size
horizontal
frame
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without frame
Oil
Oil
1942
1942
1942
1900-2000, 20th century, American Scene/Regionalism, Encyclopedia Britannica Collection, men, paintings, politics in art, Social Realism
Painting
William Gropper satirized the United States Senate in The Opposition as lawmakers were threatening to cut significant federal funding for the arts. Gropper wrote, “I have portrayed the type of representative that is opposed to progress and culture. The U.S. Senate…[has] such an influence on American life, good and bad, that it has even affected the artist and the cultural development of our country.”
William Gropper supported himself with his political cartoons, satirical drawings, and illustrations, most of which pointed out how the burdens of society were largely borne by the working class.
[Gallery label text, 2024]
Lawmakers were threatening to cut significant federal funding for the arts when political cartoonist and painter William Gropper satirized the United States Senate in The Opposition. Gropper wrote, “I have portrayed the type of representative that is opposed to progress and culture. The U.S. Senate…[has] such an influence on American life, good and bad, that it has even affected the artist and the cultural development of our country.”
[Gallery label text, 2007]
William Gropper was best known for his caustic commentary on the American political and social scene. He depicted realistic and identifiable subjects; The Opposition was one of a number of paintings and illustrations that came out of his 1934 assignment for the magazine Vanity Fair, to sketch legislators in action in Washington. Gropper made no bones about his distaste for politics and used his art to further his point of view:
"I have portrayed the type of representative that is opposed to progress and culture. The U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives have had such an influence on American life, good and bad, that it has even affected the artist and the cultural development of our country. No matter how far removed from politics artists may be, it seems to strike home. Only recently one blasting speech of a reactionary representative resulted in not only doing away with the Section of Fine Art, but also dismissing the Graphic Division of the OWI [Office of War Information] and nullifying art reportage for the War Department."
Gropper's start as a newspaper illustrator informed the creative processes of the rest of his life. His work retained his journalist's interest in issues of the day, giving it a particularly topical essence presented in a dynamic, expressionistic format.
[Gallery label text, 2006]
lower left
1951.5
item
Memorial Art Gallery
9/8/1999
51.5TR1
Transparency
Memorial Art Gallery
4 x 5
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51.5SL1
slide
2 x 2
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glossy
8x10
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8x10
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negative
4x5
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51.5DI1
digital image
Memorial Art Gallery
Imaging complete
7/14/2000
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/51.5_A1.jpg
51.5DI2
digital image
Memorial Art Gallery
Imaging complete
00/00/00
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63gropper1.tif
digital image
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/SeeingAmerica/63gropper1.tif
Print
A New Bill
William Gropper, 1897 - 1977
Gropper, William
United States
1897 - 1977
Male
13 7/8 x 19 3/16 in. (35.2 x 48.7 cm)
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image
horizontal
image
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sheet
Printer's ink
Printer's ink
1940
1940
1940
1900-2000, 20th century, lithographs, politics in art, Social Realism
Print
1940 Presentation Print of the Print Club of Albany
lower right, below imageupper left, in the stone, in the imagelower left, below imageverso, lower right
1996.31
item
Memorial Art Gallery
11/18/1999
96.31SL1
slide
full
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
negative
2 x 2.5
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glossy
8 x 10
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96.31DI1
digital image
00/00/00
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96.31.tif
digital image
00/00/00
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Print
Market on 38th Street
William Gropper, 1897 - 1977
Gropper, William
United States
1897 - 1977
Male
11 1/4 x 15 1/2 in. (28.6 x 39.4 cm)
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Printer's ink
Printer's ink
1965
1965
1965
1900-2000, 20th century, etchings, New York city
Print
As a lifelong supporter of the organized labor movement, William Gropper sensitively depicted many New Yorkers at work in tough circumstances, including in the sweat shops of the Garment District (now called the Fashion Center). After turning to etching in his late sixties, Gropper created this image of laborers pushing empty racks and pulling loaded carts on 38th St. in the busy and chaotic District. His signature caricature style is a continuation of his early political cartooning in Die Freiheit, a Yiddish newspaper printed by the Jewish Federation of the Worker’s Party.
[Label text, 2003]
1975.327.10
item
Memorial Art Gallery
9/8/1999
75.327.10DI1
digital image
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/75.327.10_A1.jpg
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full
2 x 3
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glossy
full
8 x 10
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75.327.10SL1
slide
full
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
75.327.10DI#2
digital image
11/16/2022
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/Inventory pictures/75.327.10_I1.jpg
Print
The Opposition
William Gropper, 1897 - 1977
Gropper, William
United States
1897 - 1977
Male
12 1/8 x 17 in. (30.8 x 43.2 cm)
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Printer's ink
Printer's ink
1942
1942
1942
1900-2000, 20th century, lithographs, politics in art, Social Realism
Print
lower rightlower right, in the platelower left, in the plate
1989.59
item
Memorial Art Gallery
9/8/1999
89.59DI1
digital image
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/89.59_A1.jpg
89.59TR1
transparency
full
4 x 5
00/00/00
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63gropper2.tif
digital image
00/00/00
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89.59DI#2
digital image
1/20/2006
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/89.59_A2.jpg