Join us as we hear from Rabbi Irvin Ungar, the foremost expert on the drawings and paintings of Arthur Szyk, a superb but little-known 20th-century artist. Rabbi Ungar, director of Historicana, an antiquarian book firm specializing in historic Judaica and the artwork of Arthur Szyk, will talk about Szyk’s magnificent illustrated Haggadah. Rabbi Ungar will provide a window into the life of a remarkable artist and chronicler of Jewish and American life.  

Szyk was a contemporary of the celebrated Norman Rockwell, who designed so many covers for the Saturday Evening Post. Many Rockwell magazine covers depicted issues facing white Americans. They included small-town and suburban scenes, and the challenging beginnings of racial integration. Szyk also drew powerful images of racism and a changing American landscape—but from the perspective of an outsider. As an immigrant to America and a Jewish artist, Szyk’s view was quite different from Rockwell’s.  

It will be a treat to have Rabbi Ungar—and a Szyk Haggadah—at Sherith Israel. You may have seen recent exhibits of Szyk’s work at the Contemporary Jewish Museum or the Legion of Honor. Both allowed for a look at some of his extraordinary and detailed drawings. Seeing the pages up close, displayed in frames, offers yet another way of looking at Passover as we learn about the extraordinary handiwork in this very beautiful and colorful Haggadah.   

Additional information about Arthur Szyk

www.szyk.com