Symbolism in Allegory

My favorite painting at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is Ben Shahn's Allegory.  I have to stop and stare at it forever no matter how many times I see it.

Allegory, Ben Shahn, Tempera on Panel, 36 1/8 x 48 x 1/8 inches

Ben Shahn knew how to use color and archetypes in order to convey highly symbolic messages through his artwork.  I immediately notice the anguished expression on the beast's face.  The creature itself is part lion, part wolf.  I notice the fiery reds and oranges, the claws of the creature, the stark red trees in the background and the pile of dead children underneath.

As I learned about the painting, I found that Shahn is using symbolic colors, along with the beast, in order to tell a story.  According to Dissident Voice activist Joe Allen, James Hickman was a 39 year old black steel mill worker in Post WWII Chicago.  He lived with his wife and nine children in an apartment that might be referred to as a "slum."  His landlord threatened to burn the family out of the building if they did not move out on his own.  On January 16, 1947, Hickman returned home from work to find the apartment burned and discovered that four of his children (three year old Velvena, seven year old Sylvester, nine year old Elvena and 14 year old Leslie) were dead.  Hickman was outraged and sunk into a depression when the police did not thoroughly investigate the case.  That summer, Hickman decided to take the law into his own hands.  He shot his landlord four times, killing him, saying "God is my secret judge."  The prosecution sought the death penalty and charged Hickman with murder, but after a nine day trial, the jury acquitted and found Hickman guilty of manslaughter instead.  He was free, with just two years probation.

After knowing more about the history, I think the beast in Shahn's painting represents the grief-stricken father.  The lion traditionally symbolizes strength, courage, and kingship.  To me, Hickman was the king of his own family.  He could not protect his family and wanted justice.  The wolf belongs to a pack, or family, but sometimes acts alone.  Hickman had to act alone in order to get vigilante justice for his murdered family.  The lion's mane seems to turn into flames, which certainly symbolizes both the fiery rage Hickman had to feel, as well as the fire that killed his children.  The whiteness of the dead children represents their innocence.  The trees remind me of something Hickman said: “Paper was made to burn, coal and rags. Not people. People wasn’t made to burn" (as cited in Allen).  Wood is meant for burning.  People are not.  At the same time, the tree is a symbol for life.  Life will continue moving, and people will stand together when faced with injustice.  They will conquer it if they can.  The redness of the trees symbolize the sacrifice that so many African Americans have made, in this case unwillingly, through our tortured history and the battle for civil rights.

Other symbolic works: https://www.pinterest.com/ereaume4274/art-that-inspires-symbolism/

Works Cited

Allen, Joe. “The Fight to Save James Hickman in Post-WWII Chicago.” Dissident Voice, 3 July 

     2009, dissidentvoice.org/2009/07/the-fight-to-save-james-hickman-in-post-wwii-chicago/.