Gropper’s social-realist paintings are simple, bold, and vigorous. Active lines, distorted forms, energetic brushwork, and expressive color give them a sense of modernism’s immediacy, but aesthetic issues were secondary to thematic concerns. Often creating variations on a theme, Gropper generalized and exaggerated details to make his works universal and dramatic.
Gropper believed his art could inspire people to be more compassionate and to fight for change. He also agreed with his teachers Henri and Bellows that art should be truthful to the human condition. Gropper continued to produce socially significant art until his death in 1977.
