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Art News:
Arthur Szyk: Miniature Paintings and Modern
Illuminations at the Legion of
Honor
December 4, 2010 to
March 27, 2011
Click here
for
images.
San Francisco, California, November 2010—Arthur Szyk
(American, b. Poland, 1894–1951) is remembered today as an artist and
illustrator whose work ranged from illustrations for traditional Jewish and
Polish folktales and religious texts to watercolor designs for political
cartoons that were regularly featured on the cover of Collier’s magazine
throughout the 1930s and 1940s. The exhibition Arthur Szyk: Miniature
Paintings and Modern Illuminations, at the Legion of Honor December 4,
2010, to March 27, 2011, explores Szyk’s artistry over a productive career
and returns the artist to the Legion of Honor, where a selection of his
watercolors was shown seventy years ago, in 1941. This single-gallery
presentation of 71 works on paper by Szyk also includes a handful of comparative
works by Léon Bakst, Aubrey Beardsley and Albrecht Dürer.
The Exhibition
Szyk used a highly detailed and decorative style of illumination throughout
his career, finding it an appropriate means of expression for projects as varied
as political caricature and propaganda, designs for honorific medals and badges,
and illustrations for book projects ranging from important religious texts to
literary classics. The exhibition is organized chronologically, allowing
visitors to witness the artist’s continued dedication to this very
personal style, from his early works in Paris, and throughout his later career
in Lodz, London, Ottawa, New York and New Canaan (Connecticut).
Szyk’s renowned Passover Haggadah (1940) is included in a special
section of the exhibition devoted to the artist’s book illustration
projects; also included are designs for Hans Christian Andersen’s
Andersen Fairy Tales (1945) and Geoffrey Chaucer’s The
Canterbury Tales (1946). Installed at the end of the exhibition are
some of the drawings for one of his last projects, a series of stamp album
covers, commissioned upon the founding of the United Nations in 1945. In
this series, Szyk combined symbols and allusions to personages past and present
that referred to the unique histories of the subject countries that were all
early UN member states, and countries with which Szyk had a deep personal
connection.
The Artist
In all areas of his art, Szyk’s Polish and Jewish heritage remained
central, and his attention to detail betrayed considerable historical research
into his craft. Like many of his artist peers, Szyk understood that images
could be powerful tools, used to incite change within society. However, he
broke from contemporary Modernist ideals by avoiding abstraction in favor of
figurative work. Szyk preferred to work in elaborate detail, recalling the
intricate illumination present in medieval manuscripts, Near-Eastern miniature
paintings and traditional Polish folk arts.
Programs
All programs are free with museum admission.
- December 4, 2010, 10:30 am, Gallery 1
at the Legion of Honor—Opening day exhibition introduction and gallery
walkthrough with Irvin Ungar, curator of the Arthur Szyk Society,
Burlingame, California. The walkthrough will follow Arthur Szyk’s long
career from his student days in Poland and France to the launch of his
illustration career in 1920s Paris to the creation of his illuminated Haggadah
to his impassioned World War II political art and postwar
Americana.
- January 9, 2011, 10:30 am, Gould Theater at the Legion of
Honor—Lecture
by Irvin Ungar, the curator of the Arthur Szyk Society. The lecture
Arthur Szyk: Miniature Paintings and Modern Illuminations is a
biographical overview of the artist’s career, illustrated by numerous
works from the exhibition. The presentation will focus on Szyk’s
illustrated books and portfolio works, with special attention on his treatment
of historical and political themes.
- January 30, 2011, 2:00 pm, Gould Theater at the Legion of
Honor—A
symposium devoted to the prolific works of Arthur Szyk―particularly
the influential religious and political works produced between 1934 and
1945―explores the artist’s commitment to the ideals of social
justice. Whether combating anti-Semitism and Nazism or advocating for the rescue
of European Jewry and civil rights for African Americans, Szyk combined beauty
and polemic to spur his audience first to righteous indignation and then to
decisive action.
Organization
Arthur Szyk: Miniature Paintings and Modern Illuminations is
organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Lead exhibition
support is provided by the Koret Foundation and the Taube Foundation for Jewish
Life and Culture of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund. Additional
support for the exhibition is provided by Bernard and Barbro Osher.
Legion of Honor Visitor
Information
Built to commemorate Californian soldiers who died in World War I, the Legion
of Honor displays a collection of over 4,000 years of ancient and European art
and houses the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts in a neoclassic building
overlooking Lincoln Park and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Address: Lincoln Park, 34th Avenue and Clement St., San
Francisco, CA 94121
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 9:30 am–5:15
pm; closed on Monday; Legion Café open 9:30 am–4 pm; Museum Store open
9:30 am–5 pm
Admission: $10 adults, $7 seniors, $6 youths 13–17 and
students with a college I.D.; members and children 12 and under are free; the
first Tuesday of every month is free
Information: www.legionofhonor.org
415.750.3600
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