Joseph Hirsch

Joseph Hirsch (1910-1981) was an American painter who began his study of art at the Philadelphia Museum when he was 17. He also studied privately with Henry Hensche in Provincetown and George Luks in New York City. In addition to formal study, Hirsch traveled extensively, including a five-year stay in France. He participated in the Works Project Administration in the easel painting division, with occasional work in the mural division, where he painted murals in the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Building and the Municipal Court. During World War II, he served as an artist war correspondent, recording significant battles and events. He taught at the Chicago Art Institute, the American Art School, University of Utah, and had a significant tenure at the Art Students League in New York. He also won many awards, among them were a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome, the Walter Lippincott Prize, First Prize at the New York World's Fair (1939), the Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship (1942, 1943), and the Fulbright Fellowship (1949). In 1954 he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member and became a full Academician in 1958. Early in his career, Joseph Hirsch was introduced to the movement of Social Realism through George Luks, who was one of "The Eight." This group of painters, at the beginning of the century, chose to depict ordinary and everyday scenes. From this movement stemmed the Social Realism genre of the 1920s and 1930s. Particularly during the Great Depression, social consciousness, and commentary were important components of the movement, dictating subject matter. Social commentary was the backbone for the majority of Joseph Hirsch's paintings.

MacDowell

MacDowell NYC

Studios

Eastman

Joseph Hirsch

Studios

Eastman

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