THE PEOPLE’S PAINTER

Union members and anyone with a stake in a better deal for the working class are invited to a centennial shindig for painter Ralph Fasanella (1914–97), whose colorful scenes of common folk at work, home, play, and, sometimes, on strike, thrum with righteous passion. Tonight’s benefit to promote the teaching of labor history in area high schools is pricey—minimum 30 bucks—but with the Republicans now in full control of Congress, it’s more important than ever to teach the children that the GOP’s pandering to the 1% is not the way it has to be. And the current art world could learn a lot from this maverick, who once stated, “I didn’t paint my paintings to hang in some rich guy’s living room.”

Wed., Nov. 12, 5:30 p.m., 2014