The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Many Cities

c. 1968

Ben Shahn

(American, 1898–1969)
printer

Mourlot

America
lithograph
Sheet: 56.8 x 44.8 cm (22 3/8 x 17 5/8 in.)
Gift of the Hawken School 2020.98.1
© Estate of Ben Shahn / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This image was inspired by a drawing that Ben Shahn made in 1953 that depicted European cities bombed during World War II.

Description

This print belongs to a series based on the German writer Rainer Maria Rilke’s autobiographical novel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, which dealt with the challenge of artistic creation amidst feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and defeat. American artist Ben Shahn used evocative images to suggest rather than directly interpret the poet’s words.
  • Hawken School, Gates Mills, OH
    March 2, 2020
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Prescott, Kenneth W., and Ben Shahn. The Complete Graphic Works of Ben Shahn. 1973. p. 106, no. 115
  • {{cite web|title=Many Cities|url=false|author=Ben Shahn, Mourlot|year=c. 1968|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.98.1