The trial, conviction, and executions of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian-born American anarchists, were political flash points in New York in the 1920s. Their indictment was inflected by anti-Italian and anti-immigrant fervor. For a 1932 mural exhibition at MoMA, Shahn submitted this design depicting Sacco and Vanzetti, which provoked much debate in the local press. “The subject that I chose is an aspect of modern life that stirred my feelings deeply,” the artist wrote in his own defense. “I painted it with all the sincerity and skill I possessed and, in my judgment, there is no reason in the world why a mural on this subject should not be exhibited.”
Gallery label from 2020
