Arthur Szyk 1894-1951, Poland, France, UK, Canada, and the United States. The Silent Partner. "In this game, Adolph, two aces is more than three kings." New York, 1941 Watercolor, gouache, ink, and pencil on paper Taube Family Arthur Szyk Collection, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and L
This special exhibition, organized around the theme of human rights features more than 50 works by acclaimed Polish Jewish miniaturist and political cartoonist Arthur Szyk (1894-1951), including political cartoons, and images that honor the power and importance of democratic ideals. A witness to the rise of totalitarianism in Europe, Szyk emigrated from London to America at the beginning of World War II. He lived and worked in Connecticut, and passed away in New Canaan in 1951. His powerful political cartoons animated the covers of magazines such as Time and Collier's, raising awareness of the plight of European Jews and helping sway public opinion toward support for American participation in the Second World War. As a self-described “soldier in art,” Szyk’s work was acclaimed by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt as a potent weapon “against Hitlerism.” He advocated for religious tolerance, racial equality, and human dignity. Active in the years leading up to World War II and during the Holocaust, Szyk became one of America’s most celebrated political artists for his powerful artistic and social contributions against Nazism and fascism. As our communities continue to confront issues of structural racism and social upheaval — including the sharp rise in anti-Semitic rhetoric and violence across the United States— this exhibition provides a platform for conversations on the urgent topics of human rights and social justice.
Szyk: The Interactive Experience (Walsh Gallery)
Expanding on the power of the main exhibition, FUAM will also host an immersive Szyk experience in the Walsh Gallery featuring two workstations that will enable visitors to explore Szyk’s miniatures in high resolution, reconstructing the artist’s gaze through a “digital magnifying glass.” Visitors will be able to remix and repurpose individual elements, characters, and motifs drawn from the works in the exhibition, to create new cartoons that will be instantly “published” as projections on large wall surfaces in the gallery itself and online, giving the contemporary exploration and reinterpretations of Szyk’s art a broad audience in real-time.
Other features of Szyk: The Interactive Experience will include a screening room with films about Szyk’s art and life, a reading room, an art-making space, and an ambient soundtrack of American music from the era of Szyk’s prominence in the late 30s and 40s.
Organized by the University of California, Berkeley, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, where it opened in May 2021, this exhibition is on view at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans from September 1, 2022 - May 7, 2023, before coming to the Fairfield University Art Museum, which is its only stop in the Northeast. At Fairfield, the exhibition is organized by Philip Eliasoph, PhD, Professor of Art History & Visual Culture, Department of Visual & Performing Arts, Sam & Bettie Roberts Lecturer in Judaic Studies, College of Arts and Sciences.
Image: Arthur Szyk, Liberia Souvenir sheet (full), 1948-1953, offset lithograph on paper with gum arabic adhesive, Taube Family Arthur Szyk Collection, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, University of California, Berkeley.