Arthur Szyk lithograph

http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn520123-irn521486 an entity of type: Record

rico:history

Arthur Szyk (1894-1951) was born to Jewish parents, Solomon and Eugenia Szyk in Łódź, Poland, which at the time was part of the Russian Empire. He had his first public art exhibition at age 15, and then went to Paris, France, for formal art training at the Academie Julian. He visited Palestine in 1914 with a group of Polish-Jewish artists and studied Muslim art. Upon his return, he was conscripted into the Russian Army and served in World War I. He married Julia Liekerman in 1916, and they had a son, George, in 1917. In 1918, Poland regained independence, but continued to fight a series of regional wars to secure its boundaries. Between 1919 and 1920, during Poland's war against the Soviet Bolsheviks, Syzk served as a cavalry officer and artistic director of the Department of Propaganda for the Polish Army in Łódź. In 1921, he and his family moved to Paris where his daughter, Alexandra was born the following year. Szyk was well known for his illuminations and book illustrations, in a style reminiscent of Persian miniatures. He worked on several significant projects in France, including illustrating the Statute of Kalisz, the Haggadah, and a series of watercolors on the American Revolutionary War. The themes of his most admired works, democracy and Judaism, were already well established, earning him both fame and significant commissions. In 1934, Szyk traveled to the United States for exhibitions of his work and to receive the George Washington Bicentennial Medal, awarded by the US Congress. He resided in England from 1937-1940 to supervise the publication of the Haggadah. In 1939, following Germany's invasion of Poland, he focused on producing anti-Nazi editorial cartoons published in many Western newspapers and magazines. During the German occupation of Poland, his 70 year old mother, Eugenia, and her Polish companion were forced to live in the Łódź ghetto. In 1943, they were transported to Majdanek concentration camp and killed. In late 1940, Szyk immigrated to the United States with his family. He became a leading anti-Fascist political caricaturist as well as an advocate for Jewish rescue. In addition to his widely published satirical art, Szyk devoted a great deal of time and energy to the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe, and pushed for the establishment of an independent Jewish state in Palestine. Szyk received his US citizenship in 1948. In 1951, he was investigated by the United States House Un-American Activities Committee as a suspected Communist. His son, speaking on his behalf, declared his non-affiliation with any Communist organization. Later that year, on September 13, Szyk suffered a heart attack and died at age 57.

The lithograph was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2002 by Irvin Ungar.

rico:identifier

irn521486

rico:title

Arthur Szyk lithograph

rico:recordResourceExtent

overall: Height: 9.940 inches (25.248 cm) | Width: 11.500 inches (29.21 cm)

rico:scopeAndContent

The multi-colored lithograph represents Arthur Szyk's conception of the entire history of the Jewish people and Israel. The Biblical kings, David, and his son, Solomon, who is holding a copy of"Song of Songs" are drawn on either side of three other Biblical notables: Hur, Moses, and Moses' brother, Aaron. A blue Star of David dominates the center of the print with the"Crown of a Good Nam" above and Hillel's quotation,"If I am not for myself, Who will be for me?" in Hebrew below. The phrase,"The time of our freedom" flanks the Star of David. Depictions of Bar Kokhba (Kochba) on the left and the prophet, Ezekiel, on the right line the sides of the print. The word,"Israel" in Hebrew is drawn above a scene consisting of an Israeli soldier and a pioneer "Chalut" "Halut") flanking the Ten Commandments. The Hebew prayer,"Shehecheyanu" is contained in four stars located throughout the lithograph.

blank nodes

data from the linked data cloud