Szyk, Arthur (1894 – 1951)

The Polish émigré, American caricaturist, cartoonist and illustrator, Arthur Szyk began his career in 1914. Hee illustrated over 30 books, created scores of caricatures and portraits as covers for Colliers and Time magazines, numerous cartoons for PM (the 1940s ad-free liberal/left daily), the New York Post, and Esquire, as well as posters, medallions, stained glass, and a large body of work on Judaic themes. One of the most prolific visual satirists of his day, his Second World War anti-fascist imagery is said to be comparable to Goya’s Disasters of War, but his mission went beyond topical satire — art was an engine of spiritual transcendence. A victim of anti-Semitism in his native country, forced to move to Paris, England, and later the U.S., he fought for a free Polish state as both soldier and artist, and later devoted his energies helping to build a Jewish state. Indeed almost all his art, including numerous books of illustrated fairy tales, were imbued with appeals for social justice. “To call Szyk a ‘cartoonist’ is tantamount to calling Rembrandt a dauber or Chippendale a carpenter,” declared an editorial in a 1942 Esquire. In fact, with articles about him published in The New Yorker and the New York Herald Tribune, among others, his artistic renown was undisputable. Szyk was one of the first public figures to take direct action in bringing attention to the Holocaust as it was being perpetrated. The intricate, miniature size of his artwork stands in striking juxtaposition to the magnitude of the themes it confronted and the human rights violations it exposed.