A One-Man Army: The Art of Arthur Szyk

Arthur Szyk (1894-1951) was described by Eleanor Roosevelt as a “one-man army,” using art as a weapon to garner support for the social and political issues in which he believed. Szyk (pronounced Shick) was born in Lodz, Poland. He studied art in Paris and lived in London before immigrating to the United States in 1940. Szyk believed his art could make a difference in the world and became one of the 20th century’s most important political propagandists. Throughout his career, Syzk produced illustrated books, illuminated manuscripts, commercial art and posters, stamps for humanitarian causes, and political cartoons which appeared on the covers of many important magazines during World War II. Throughout his work, Szyk portrayed the Jewish people not as victims but as strong, patriotic and heroic. He called for a Jewish homeland in Palestine – a campaign that he continued after the end of World War II. He called for the United States to enter the war against Germany and he created many powerful anti-Nazi and anti-axis cartoons. “A One-Man Army: The Art of Arthur Szyk” will highlight the private collection of Gregg and Michelle Philipson, and will include loans of important works from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the United States Naval Academy Museum.

This exhibition is underwritten by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc.; Houston Endowment, Inc.; Nina and Michael Zilkha Endowment Fund; and Edith F. and Robert L. Zinn; with special thanks to Continental Airlines, official airline of Holocaust Museum Houston.