Apr

Lest we forget: Celebrating the common man

Ralph Fasanella, Modern Times, 1966, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Maurice and Margo Cohen, Birmingham, MI. © 1966, Estate of Ralph Fasanella

Ralph Fasanella (1914–1997) was a self-taught painter who celebrated the common man and fought for the working class through artworks that tackled complex issues of postwar America. A new exhibition opening May 2 at the American Art Museum, reminds us that great art can come from everyday life and that it can generate important social change.

“Ralph Fasanella: Lest We Forget,” brings together 19 of the artist’s most significant large paintings and eight sketches in celebration of the 100th anniversary of his birth and was organized by. Organized by Leslie Umberger, curator for folk and self-taught art, it will be on view through Aug. Aug. 3 before traveling to New York City.

The son of Italian immigrants, Fasanella was born in the Bronx and grew up in the working- class neighborhoods of New York. He labored with his father on his ice-delivery route, later working in the garment industry, as a truck driver, gas station owner and union organizer. His parents ingrained in him empathy and respect for the common man and taught him the value of hard work and of fighting for one’s rights, lessons that would later resonate in his works. Fasanella took up painting in 1945 and was able to devote himself to it full-time in the 1970s, a period when his art became more widely recognized.

Ralph Fasanella, Iceman Crucified #4, 1958, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ralph Fasanella. © 1958, Estate of Ralph Fasanella

A tireless advocate for workers’ rights, Fasanella viewed painting as an extension of his union activity and created artworks as memorial documents, teaching tools and rallying cries for his community. These paintings, often large in scale and laden with symbolic imagery, deal with themes of struggle, endurance, social justice, family and community. He felt strongly about the need to remember the sacrifices of previous generations, inscribing the phrase “Lest We Forget” on several of his paintings.

“The artworks on view chart a painting career that spanned five tumultuous decades,” said Umberger. “As Fasanella grew as an artist he developed an astute and accessible style that reflected his deep commitment to the working class. He ardently believed that art didn’t have to be elitist or unapproachable; it was a tool to be wielded like a hammer.”

As early as 1947, Fasanella was exhibited alongside the top social realist painters of the day, including Philip Evergood and Ben Shahn. His works hung in both galleries and union halls and effectively bridged a divide between socially aware, self-taught artists and their trained counterparts.

Among the 27 artworks on display are two major paintings from the museum’s permanent collection. “Iceman Crucified #4” (1958) is a tribute to Fasanella’s father and a recent gift to the museum from the artist’s estate. In “Modern Times” (1966), the artist champions humanistic values in an increasingly technological modern world. The display marks the first time both paintings will be on public view at the museum.

The American Folk Art Museum in New York City, which holds a significant collection of Fasanella’s artworks and archives donated by the Fasanella family, has loaned six paintings to the exhibition as well as the drawings and archival materials presented.

A slideshow of Fasanella’s works on view in the exhibition is available online.

Free Public Programs

Umberger and Marc Fasanella, the artist’s son, will discuss Fasanella’s life and career Friday, May 2, at 6:30 p.m. in the museum’s McEvoy Auditorium. Additional programs include a concert by the 21st Century Consort, the museum’s ensemble-in-residence, Saturday, April 26, at 4 p.m., a Mother’s Day Family Festival Saturday, May 10, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and gallery talks led by Umberger Wednesday, July 2, and Wednesday July 30, both at 5:30 p.m. For additional information, visit americanart.si.edu/calendar.