Monday, December 24, 2012

New Acquisition: an Arthur Szyk

I was at a thrift store with Kate and her mom yesterday and I got a framed print of an Arthur Szyk in great condition. After getting home I learned that it's called "Satan Leads the Ball":

Arthur Szyk's "Satan Leads The Ball," (New York, 1942; detail). - Reproduced with the cooperation of The Arthur Szyk Society, Burlingame, Calif.

Szyk was a Polish artist who after 1940 (this was done in 1942) lived in the United States. He did a lot of political art and illustrations, particularly caricatures of the Axis leadership. The large man at the center of this one confused me at first. He seems to be draping himself over Hitler and others. But then I saw "Herrenvolk" written on him: "master race". Goebbels has a jack-in-the-box Bolshevik, and Mussolini does not appear to be wearing any pants (can anyone explain that one?)

Szyk was also invited to do the same four freedoms that Rockwell did, and apparently did a lot of Americana in addition to his Axis leadership art (this pic is from the Arthur Szyk Society):



The frame is a little bumped up so I may try to fix that, but the print is in great shape.
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3 comments:

  1. AbsalonDecember 24, 2012 at 1:58 PM

    It may be that Mussolini is supposed to be wearing shorts - the Italy Army was active in North Africa and the soldiers sometimes wore shorts as part of a uniform.

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  2. AbsalonDecember 24, 2012 at 2:10 PM

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  3. AbsalonDecember 24, 2012 at 2:10 PM

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