The Southern Senator

Best known for his bold satirical portrayals of elite and powerful figures, William Gropper believed that art could induce political change in a democratic society.

Gropper was born on the Lower East Side of New York City into a working-class family who labored in the sweatshops of the city’s garment district, and did so himself as a teenager. After studying painting under Robert Henri and George Bellows, Gropper worked as a cartoonist for the New York Tribune. In 1927, he traveled to Russia with novelists Sinclair Lewis and Theodore Dreiser and subsequently focused his efforts on producing a series of paintings that communicate the social unrest during the Great Depression.

Gropper created a number of paintings and political cartoons satirizing political figures. In a 1967 interview, he described his experience covering the Senate for Vanity Fair magazine: "A long time ago, I was assigned by Vanity Fair to cover the Senate. I stayed two or three weeks and painted the Senate as I saw it. I think the United States Senate is the best show in the world. If people saw it, they would know what their government is doing."