A Lithuanian-born son of secular Jewish socialist parents killed by Fascists during World War Two, Rudolf Baranik emigrated to the USA in 1938. After serving in the army, he studied with Fernand Léger in Paris and on his return to New York became part of a circle of politically minded artists, including Leon Golub, Nancy Spero and May Stevens, and critics such as Lucy Lippard, who was a lifelong friend. He was active in the Angry Arts collective, the Artists and Writers Protest (AWP) and Art Workers’ Coalition (AWC), being one of the first artists to organise protests against the Vietnam War.

© Rudolf Baranik; Courtesy of the estate of the artist and RYAN LEE Gallery, New York.