us-005578-irn619197-irn625532
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Color lithographic print adhered to rectangular, discolored, off-white, heavyweight paper. The large center image depicts an extended family sitting the table for Seder. The long, rectangular table is covered with dishes, cutlery, cups, and a large tray holding matzah and other traditional Passover foods. An old man wearing a white robe and kippah is seated at the head of the table. Seated on the long side of the table is a young boy, a man, and a woman. The boy and man are in dark-colored dress clothes and the woman is wearing a red top and tichel. On the opposite side is a man with a white robe and a black kippah, and a young girl in a blue dress with a large gold-colored ewer sitting between them on a stool. The boy and the three younger adults are all reading Haggadahs. At the foot of the table is an old woman, wearing a blue and green striped, fur-lined dress and a brown tichel. Behind the table, two young women carry trays of food. The room has brown wooden cabinets along the green walls, and a large, gold colored menorah behind the table. The back has discolored edges and acid stains in the center from adhesive.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: Restrictions on use. Copyright retained by the estate of Arthur Szyk.
has beginning date: 1948-01-01
has end date: 1948-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had identifier: 2
has or had some members with language: eng
has record set type: Item
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 th…
history: The print was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Susan Stamberg, the daughter of Robert Levitt.
identifier: irn625532
is or was included in: us-005578-irn619197
record resource extent: overall: Height: 8.375 inches (21.273 cm) | Width: 10.000 inches (25.4 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Color lithographic print of a Passover Seder (ritual meal) created by Arthur Szyk in New Canaan, Connecticut. The image was originally printed in the book, Six paintings of Jewish holidays, in 1948. The print depicts an extended family seated at a table reading the Book of Exodus and waiting for food to be served. Passover commemorates the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt and celebrates God as the liberator of humanity. The name comes from the miracle in which God “passed over” the houses of the Israelites during the tenth plague. Born to Jewish parents in Łódź, Poland, Szyk studied and worked on projects throughout Europe, drawing on his personal experiences when creating images. When Szyk returned to Poland, he served in the Russian Army during World War I. While serving, he became an artistic director for the Polish Department of Propaganda during the Polish–Soviet War. In 1937, Szyk moved to England to escape the increasing antisemitism and rising Nazi threat. When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Szyk began contributing illustrations and caricatures of Hitler and the Nazis to the war propaganda campaign. In 1940, he was able to immigrate to the United States, where he continued his career as an illustrator and contributed anti-Nazi cartoons to publications such as Life, Time, and Esquire. His widely published caricatures made him one of the most famous political satirists during World War II and he was considered one of the greatest modern practitioners of the art of illumination.
title: Print of an Arthur Szyk painting depicting a family eating diner during Passover