Arnold Mesches: Layers of Observation and Political Engagement Arnold Mesches (August 11, 1923 – November 5, 2016) was an American visual artist whose distinctive approach to painting—characterized by densely layered collages incorporating FBI files, newspaper clippings, magazine cutouts, photographs, and handwritten scripts—established him as a singular voice in mid-century American art. Born in the Bronx, New York, Mesches’s formati…