I’m Gonna Paint! Ralph Fasanella, Artist of the People

I’m Gonna Paint! Ralph Fasanella, Artist of the People, by Anne Broyles, illustrated by Victoria Tentler-Krylov (New York: Holiday House, 2023)

Ralph Fasanella, a child of Italian immigrants, raised in New York’s tenement world, who lived a working-class life, fought fascists in the Spanish Civil War, and became a labor organizer for the “UE”, then, in his 30’s, taught himself how to paint. He would not be “discovered” by the mainstream world of the arts for many years and would object to being characterized as a “primitive” like Grandma Moses. “How can I be primitive in an industrial society?” was his response.

I’m Gonna Paint! re-introduces us to Fasanella (who died in 1997) and his work. While the book comes from a long-established publisher of works for children, and the target audience is stated to be “Ages 4-8,” its content and style could easily appeal to older children or even “Young Adults,” and encourage them to learn more about the artist, his style, his subjects, and his working-class world.  A brief biographical summary is supplemented by a timeline of his life and list of events in labor and political history, guides to contemporaries such as Ben Shahn, Diego Rivera, and Gordon Parks, and a multimedia biography.  All together it feels like much more than a “children’s book;” it is a gateway to further exploration of an artist’s life.

The book includes reproductions of some Fasanella paintings like “Dress Shop” (which your reviewer has hung on his own wall) and “Meeting at the Commons: Lawrence 1912,” but most of the illustrations are original to Victoria Tentler-Krylov, who has illustrated many books and created several New Yorker magazine covers.  Her colorful work nicely complements the Fasanella style and depicts the environment that shaped and inspired him.

Ralph Fasanella boldly and in detail captured the world of the working class, on the job, on strike, in the streets of the city, even at ballgames (and one of his “baseball park” paintings has been displayed at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown).  I’m Gonna Paint! can help “children of all ages” rediscover the man and his work.

Reviewed by Keith Danish, the Book Reviews and Newsletter Editor of the New York Labor History Association.