Print of an Arthur Szyk painting depicting a family eating a meal for Sukkot
- Title
- Succoth
- Series Title
- Holiday Series
- Date
-
publication/distribution:
1948
- Geography
-
creation:
New Canaan (Conn.)
- Language
-
English
- Classification
-
Art
- Category
-
Prints
- Object Type
-
Prints (lcsh)
- Genre/Form
-
Prints.
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Estate of Robert Levitt
Color lithographic print of a traditional Succoth 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 a family sitting down to eat in a sukkah (temporary hut with a thatched roof that represents the huts the Israelites dwelt in after leaving Egypt), and gathering palm, myrtle, willow (lulav), and citron (etrog), which is traditionally held and shaken. The Sukkot holiday celebrates the gathering of the harvest and commemorates the protection God provided for the children of Israel when they left Egypt. 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.
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Record last modified: 2023-02-24 10:09:52
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn625528
Also in Robert Levitt collection
The collection consists of seven prints of Arthur Syzk paintings that relate to his experiences in Poland and the United States before, during, and after the Holocaust.
Date: 1945-1948
Print of an Arthur Szyk painting depicting the Simchat Torah celebration
Object
Color lithographic print of the Simchat Torah celebration, 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 the male members of a Jewish congregation traditionally celebrating the religious holiday, Simchat Torah (Rejoicing with the Torah) by carrying the Torah scrolls (handwritten copy of the Torah, the five books of Moses) around the bimah (podium where the Torah and Prophets are read) and the synagogue while singing, dancing, and reciting chants. The Simchat Torah marks and celebrates completion of the annual Torah readings. 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.
Print of an Arthur Szyk painting depicting Hanukkah festivities
Object
Color lithographic print of a traditional communal Hanukkah celebration 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 several members of a community gathering to celebrate Hanukkah by lighting a Hanukkiah (a candelabrum that holds eight candles for the eight nights of Hanukkah, plus the Shamash [attendant] that is used to light the other candles), playing games, serving Latkes, and singing Hanukkah songs. Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem during the Jewish revolt against the oppressive Seleucid Empire. 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.
Print of an Arthur Szyk painting depicting a congregation worshiping during Rosh Hashanah
Object
Color lithographic print of a traditional Rosh Hashanah liturgy 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 the reading of the Mahzor (the prayer book for the high holidays) during a morning service inside of a synagogue with a congregation member preparing to blow a shofar (a hollow animal horn used as a musical horn), a symbolic act that only occurs during Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah celebrates the Jewish new year and is a time for celebration and introspection. 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.
Print of an Arthur Szyk painting depicting an extended family celebrating Purim
Object
Color lithographic print of a communal Purim celebration 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 the reading of the Scroll of Esther (the Megillah) and a man and boy celebrating in costume. Purim celebrates Esther, a Queen of Persia, saving of the Jewish people from a massacre planned by an advisor to the King. The holiday is traditionally celebrated with wild abandon and with the giving of gifts to friends and the poor. 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.
Print of an Arthur Szyk painting depicting a family eating diner during Passover
Object
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.
Print of an Arthur Szyk painting featuring iconic images of Americana
Object
Color lithographic print from the United Nations Series, originally painted by Arthur Szyk in New Canaan, Connecticut. Each image in the series was to be a highly detailed single-page piece that combined symbols, scenes, portraits, and decorative motifs to create a visual history of each member country of the United Nations. The series was commissioned by Kasimir Bileski, and the images were meant to be cover pages for an international stamp book. Szyk was to continue painting these histories as new countries joined the United Nations, but he only completed nine before his death in 1951. 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.
