Social realism is art created by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers, filmmakers, and some musicians. This art focuses on showing the real social and political problems faced by the working class. It is used to point out unfair power structures that cause these problems. While the style of social realism changes in different countries, it often uses realistic descriptions or critical views of life.
The term is sometimes used to describe an American art movement that grew popular between World War I and World War II. This movement happened because many people suffered after the economic crisis caused by the stock market crash in 1929. Artists made art that showed ordinary workers and famous people as strong examples of people facing difficult times. Their goal was to show how poor living conditions were getting worse and to hold governments and society responsible for these issues.
Social realism should not be confused with socialist realism, which was the official art style of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin made it official in 1934, and other Communist groups later used it too. Social realism is also different from general realism because it shows conflicts between opposing groups, like farmers and their landowners. However, sometimes the terms "social realism" and "socialist realism" are used as if they mean the same thing, even though they are not.
Origins
Social realism became an important art movement in the United States between World War I and World War II. It developed as a response to the growing struggles faced by everyday people. This movement was influenced by a similar tradition in France, which had existed for many years.
Social realism has its roots in 19th-century European Realism, an art style that focused on real-life subjects. Artists like Honoré Daumier, Gustave Courbet, and Jean-François Millet were key figures in this movement. In Britain, the Industrial Revolution led to concerns about poverty. In the 1870s, artists such as Luke Fildes, Hubert von Herkomer, Frank Holl, and William Small created works that were widely shared in a publication called The Graphic.
In Russia, a group of artists known as the Peredvizhniki, or "Social Realism," criticized the harsh social conditions they saw in their society. They also criticized the rule of the Tsar, or Russian emperor. One artist, Ilya Repin, stated that his art aimed to expose the unfairness of Tsarist society. Similar concerns were later addressed in 20th-century Britain by groups such as the Artists' International Association, Mass Observation, and the Kitchen Sink school.
Social realist photography was inspired by the documentary style of the late 19th century. Photographers like Jacob A. Riis and Maksim Dmitriyev captured real-life situations to show social issues.
Around the year 1900, a group of Realist artists led by Robert Henri challenged the American Impressionism style and traditional art schools. This group became known as the Ashcan school. The name came from a drawing by George Bellows titled Disappointments of the Ash Can, which was published in the Philadelphia Record in April 1915.
Ashcan artists created paintings, illustrations, etchings, and lithographs that showed the energy of New York City. They focused on current events and the social and political ideas of their time. H. Barbara Weinberg of The Metropolitan Museum of Art described these artists as documenting a time of change, filled with both confidence and uncertainty. They often highlighted the positive aspects of their era, even as they quietly addressed difficult issues like immigration and urban poverty.
Notable works from the Ashcan school include George Luks’ Breaker Boy and John Sloan’s Sixth Avenue Elevated at Third Street. The Ashcan school influenced artists during the Depression era, including Thomas Hart Benton’s mural City Activity with Subway.
Art movement
The term "social realism" has its origins in the Realist movement in French art during the mid-1800s. In the 1900s, social realism refers to the work of the French artist Gustave Courbet, especially his paintings A Burial at Ornans and The Stone Breakers, which shocked viewers at the French Salon in 1850. This style is also linked to European realism and the works of artists like Honoré Daumier and Jean-François Millet. Social realism became less popular in the 1960s but still influences art and ideas today.
In a narrower sense, social realism began in the United States during the Great Depression in the 1930s. As an American art movement, it is connected to American scene painting and Regionalism. American social realism includes works by artists such as Edward Hopper, Thomas Hart Benton, Will Barnet, Ben Shahn, Jacob Lawrence, and many others. It also includes photography by artists like Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Margaret Bourke-White, and others.
In Mexico, the artist Frida Kahlo is linked to social realism. The Mexican muralist movement, which was most active in the 1920s and 1930s, was also part of social realism. This movement had political themes, often related to Marxism, and reflected the social and political changes in post-revolutionary Mexico. Key artists in this movement include Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, and Rufino Tamayo. Other artists, such as Santiago Martínez Delgado and Jorge González Camarena, also participated.
Many social realist artists were painters who supported socialist (but not necessarily Marxist) ideas. While social realism shares some similarities with socialist realism used in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries, they are not the same. Social realism is not an official style and allows for personal expression. In some cases, socialist realism has been described as a type of social realism.
Social realism developed as a response to the unrealistic and overly emotional art of the Romanticism period. The effects of the Industrial Revolution became clear, with growing cities and poor living conditions for many people. Social Realists aimed to show the difficult truths of life, focusing on the struggles of the working class and the poor. They depicted life as it was, without adding emotions or beauty. Many people were upset by social realism because they did not know how to understand or react to it.
In the United States
Social realism in the United States was influenced by the muralists who worked in Mexico after the Mexican Revolution of 1910.
Social realist photography reached its peak in the work of photographers like Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Ben Shahn, and others for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) project, which lasted from 1935 to 1943.
After World War I, the U.S. farm economy collapsed because of too much production, lower prices, bad weather, and more machines. Many farm workers lost their jobs, and small farms went into debt. Thousands of farms were lost through foreclosures, and sharecroppers and tenant farmers were forced to leave their land. When Franklin D. Roosevelt became president in 1932, about two million farm families lived in poverty, and millions of acres of farmland were ruined by soil erosion and poor farming methods.
The FSA was a New Deal program created to help reduce rural poverty during this time. The agency hired photographers to show that help was needed and that FSA programs were meeting that need. This effort produced over 80,000 black-and-white images, and it is now considered one of the most famous documentary photography projects in history.
The Public Works of Art Project was a program to employ artists during the Great Depression. It was the first such program, running from December 1933 to June 1934. It was led by Edward Bruce, under the United States Treasury Department, and funded by the Civil Works Administration.
Created in 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was the largest and most ambitious New Deal program. It helped millions of jobless people, mostly unskilled men, by employing them to build public buildings and roads. In smaller but more famous projects, the WPA also supported musicians, artists, writers, actors, and directors in art, theater, media, and education programs. Many artists working for the WPA were connected to social realism. Social realism became an important art movement in the United States during the 1930s. As an American artistic movement supported by New Deal programs, social realism is closely related to American scene painting and Regionalism.
In Mexico, the painter Frida Kahlo is linked to the social realism movement. The Mexican muralist movement, which was most active in the 1920s and 1930s, inspired many artists in the United States and was an important part of the social realism movement. This movement is known for its political messages, often related to Marxist ideas and the social and political changes in post-revolutionary Mexico. Well-known artists in this movement include Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, and Rufino Tamayo. Other artists, such as Santiago Martínez Delgado, Jorge González Camarena, Roberto Montenegro, Federico Cantú Garza, and Jean Charlot, also participated in the movement.
Many artists who followed social realism were painters with socialist (but not necessarily Marxist) political views. This movement shares some similarities with Socialist Realism used in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries, but they are not the same. Social Realism is not an official art style and allows for personal expression. In some cases, Socialist Realism has been described as a specific part of Social Realism.
With the rise of abstract expressionism in the 1940s, social realism became less popular. Some WPA artists found work with the United States Office of War Information during World War II, creating posters and other materials for the war effort. After the war, even though social realism was not widely recognized in the art market, many artists continued their work into the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Artists like Jacob Lawrence, Ben Shahn, Bernarda Bryson Shahn, Raphael Soyer, Robert Gwathmey, Antonio Frasconi, Philip Evergood, Sidney Goodman, and Aaron Berkman continued to use social realist styles and themes in their work.
Whether popular or not, social realism and art that focuses on social issues continue today in the contemporary art world. Artists such as Sue Coe, Mike Alewitz, Kara Walker, Celeste Dupuy Spencer, Allan Sekula, Fred Lonidier, and others create works that reflect social realism and socially conscious themes.
In Latin America
After the Mexican Revolution of 1910, artists in Mexico painted large murals that promoted the ideas of revolution and celebrated the traditions of the country's original people. These artists included Diego Rivera, who painted History of Mexico, José Clemente Orozco, who created Catharsis, and David Alfaro Siqueiros, who made The Strike. These murals also helped spread a style of art called social realism in other Latin American countries, such as Ecuador, where Oswaldo Guayasamín painted The Strike, and Brazil, where Cândido Portinari created Coffee.
In Europe
In Belgium, early artists who painted social realism include Constantin Meunier and Charles de Groux from the 19th century. In Britain, artists like James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Hubert von Herkomer, and Luke Fildes created successful paintings that showed real-life situations and social problems. In Western Europe, artists such as Bruno Caruso from Italy, Käthe Kollwitz, George Grosz, Otto Dix, and Max Beckmann from Germany, Torsten Billman from Sweden, Charley Toorop and Pyke Koch from the Netherlands, Maurice de Vlaminck, Roger de La Fresnaye, Jean Fautrier, and Francis Gruber from France, and Eugène Laermans and Constant Permeke from Belgium also painted social realism in the early 20th century.
During this time, political divisions made it harder for people to tell the difference between social realism and socialist realism. By the middle of the 20th century, abstract art became more popular than social realism in Western Europe and the United States.
Realism is a painting style that shows what the eyes can see. It was very popular in France during the mid- to late-19th century. The invention of photography, which created realistic images, encouraged artists to paint scenes that looked "objectively real." Realism opposed Romanticism, a style that focused on emotions and dramatic scenes. Realism believed in showing the world as it was, without personal bias, and rejected exaggerated emotions. Artists like Gustave Courbet aimed for truth and accuracy in their work.
Realism also appeared in other Western countries, though it developed later. In Russia, a group called the Peredvizhniki, or Wanderers, formed in the 1860s. They held exhibitions and included artists like Ilya Repin, who had a major influence on Russian art.
Social realism grew from this trend and became the main style in the Soviet Union for over 60 years. Socialist realism, which promoted socialist ideas, showed everyday life and the struggles of the working class. It highlighted the hardships of workers and celebrated the values of loyal communist workers.
Social realism aimed to inspire people to take action and spread hope about the importance of productivity. Keeping people optimistic helped build a sense of national pride, which was important for creating a successful socialist nation. A newspaper called Literaturnaya Gazeta described social realism as "the representation of the proletarian revolution." During Joseph Stalin’s leadership, socialist realism was used in posters to encourage people to work hard and support Russia’s goal of becoming an industrialized country.
Vladimir Lenin believed that art should belong to the people and support the working class. He said art should reflect the feelings, thoughts, and needs of the people. After the 1917 revolution, leaders of the Communist Party encouraged artists to experiment with different styles. Lenin believed that the USSR should use art styles that were easy for the public to understand, avoiding abstract styles like suprematism and constructivism, which were hard for many people to grasp.
A debate about art happened in the early 20th century. Some believed art should be completely separate from past styles influenced by the wealthy, while others, like Leon Trotsky, argued that art should learn from past styles before moving forward.
In 1932, under Stalin’s leadership, an organization called the Union of Soviet Writers was created to support socialist realism. By 1934, all independent art groups were banned, and only art that followed socialist realism could be published. This movement became one of the most practical and long-lasting artistic styles of the 20th century. The communist revolution also brought a cultural revolution, giving Stalin and the Communist Party more control over Soviet culture. People were not allowed to express ideas that contradicted socialist realism. Social realism declined after the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.
In film
Social realism in movies began with Italian neorealism, especially the films made by Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Luchino Visconti, and partly by Federico Fellini.
Early British films showed everyday life, similar to stories by writers like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy. One of the first British films to focus on realism as a way to show social problems was A Reservist Before the War, and After the War (1902) by James Williamson. This film showed soldiers returning from the Boer War to face unemployment. Strict censorship from 1945 to 1954 limited British films from showing strong social messages.
After World War I, British middle-class audiences preferred realistic and serious movies, while working-class audiences often chose Hollywood genre films. This made realism connected with education and serious themes. These differences became important themes in later years, as social realism was linked with art films and directors, while mainstream Hollywood films were shown in large theaters.
Producer Michael Balcon helped highlight this difference in the 1940s, calling the British film industry’s competition with Hollywood “realism and tinsel.” Balcon, who led Ealing Studios, played a major role in creating a British cinema style known for honesty and realistic storytelling. Critic Richard Armstrong said: “Combining the clear, factual style of documentaries with the stars and resources of studio filmmaking, 1940s British cinema strongly connected with audiences.”
Social realism in movies showed changes in British society during wartime. Women worked with men in the military and factories, challenging old ideas about gender roles. Rationing, air raids, and government control over people’s lives encouraged new social ideas. Films from this time include Target for Tonight (1941), In Which We Serve (1942), Millions Like Us (1943), and This Happy Breed (1944). Historian Roger Manvell wrote: “As cinemas reopened after closing due to air raid fears, people flocked to them for comfort, friendship, and a reminder of human values.”
After the war, films like Passport to Pimlico (1949), The Blue Lamp (1949), and The Titfield Thunderbolt (1952) showed traditional values, creating a contrast between wartime unity and the rise of consumer culture.
Sydney Box became head of Gainsborough Pictures in 1946 and shifted the studio’s focus from wartime melodramas to social realism. Issues like short-term relationships, adultery, and child adoption were shown in films such as When the Bough Breaks (1947), Good-Time Girl (1948), Portrait from Life (1948), The Lost People (1949), and Boys in Brown (1949). Box also showed new ways working-class families spent their free time in films like Holiday Camp (1947), Easy Money (1948), and A Boy, a Girl and a Bike (1949). Even after Gainsborough closed in 1951, Box continued making social realism films, saying in 1952: “No film has yet shown the Tolpuddle Martyrs, the Suffragette Movement, the National Health Service, or scandals like patent medicines or armaments made for profit.” Instead, he made films about topics like abortion, teenage prostitution, and drug use, such as Street Corner (1953), Too Young to Love (1959), and Subway in the Sky (1959).
A British New Wave movement began in the 1950s and 1960s. Directors like Karel Reisz, Tony Richardson, and John Schlesinger used wide shots and simple dialogue to tell stories about everyday people adjusting to postwar society. Easier censorship allowed filmmakers to show topics like prostitution, abortion, homosexuality, and loneliness. Characters in these films included factory workers, office workers, unhappy wives, pregnant girlfriends, runaways, and people from poor or struggling backgrounds. The main characters were often working-class men who felt lost in a society where old industries and traditions were fading.
Mike Leigh and Ken Loach also make modern social realism films.
Social realism also influenced Hindi films in the 1940s and 1950s. Neecha Nagar (1946) by Chetan Anand won the Palme d’Or at the first Cannes Film Festival, and Two Acres of Land (1953) by Bimal Roy won the International Prize at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival. These films helped start the Indian New Wave, which included early Bengali art films like Nagarik (1952) by Ritwik Ghatak and The Apu Trilogy (1955–59) by Satyajit Ray. Realism in Indian cinema began earlier, in the 1920s and 1930s, with films like Indian Shylock (1925) and The Unaccepted (1937) by V. Shantaram.