Justice Illuminated: The Art of Arthur Szyk (1998), The Szyk Haggadah and Freedom Illuminated: Understanding the Szyk Haggadah (2008), Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art (2017)
Awards
2008 Hemlock Award of Excellence, 2012 PubWest Silver Award, 2017 National Jewish Book Award
Irvin Ungar (born 1948) is an American former pulpit rabbi and antiquarian bookseller, considered the foremost expert[1][2] on the artist Arthur Szyk. Ungar is credited as “the man behind the Szyk renaissance”[3] who pulled Szyk “out of obscurity”[4] through scholarship, exhibitions, and publications spanning nearly three decades.[5]
In 1987, Ungar founded Historicana (known as Holy Land Treasures from 1987 to 1991), becoming an antiquarian book dealer specializing in historic Judaica.[7] In 1991, Historicana became a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America. Notable items that Ungar owned and sold over the years include Anne Frank’s “Forget Me Not” autograph inscription;[8] the original handwritten draft in Hebrew of Martin Buber’s 1939 letter to Mahatma Gandhi regarding a two-state solution in Palestine;[9] a rare Theodor Herzl autograph letter, dated November 1900, stating a plan to “bring the cause of Zionism before the English Parliament”;[10] and a letter signed by both King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, dated 1492, on the confiscation of Jewish property and the expulsion of Jews from Spain.[11] In addition, Historicana produced a series of American Judaica catalogues, as well as one-off catalogues for specialty collections. These included a Zion anniversary catalogue, The Birth of a Nation,[12] commemorating the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel; and the Collector’s Haggadah Catalogue: 1695 – Present,[13] which gave prospective buyers information and prices on almost 1500 Haggadot that Ungar owned at one time.
Ungar's increasing interest in Arthur Szyk changed the direction and scope of Historicana in key ways. In 1999, Historicana became a small publishingimprint to reprint the exhibition catalogue from “Justice Illuminated: The Art of Arthur Szyk,”[14] a Spertus Museum exhibition that Ungar had curated, which was the first major Szyk museum exhibition in decades.[15] From there, Historicana served as publisher or co-publisher for several books about Szyk. In addition to operating Historicana, Ungar amassed the largest single collection of artwork by Szyk to date:[16] The Arthur Szyk Collection, which was purchased in 2017 by the University of California, Berkeley through a monetary gift from philanthropistTad Taube.[17]
Arthur Szyk
Ungar first encountered Arthur Szyk's art in 1975, when he purchased a copy of The Haggadah illustrated by Szyk from Bloch Publishing Company in New York.[18] At the time, Szyk was relatively unknown,[19] having fallen into obscurity[20] after his death at age 57 in 1951.
Ungar's interest in Arthur Szyk began in the late 1980s, following his purchase of Szyk's Holiday Series prints[21] at an antique shop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Shortly afterward, Ungar met another antiquarian, Hallam Webber, at a Washington, D.C. book fair. Webber later introduced Ungar to George Gooche, a fellow Szyk collector and founder of The Arthur Szyk Society.[22] Prior to meeting Ungar, Gooche had been in contact with Arthur Szyk’s daughter, Alexandra Szyk Bracie, regarding his goal to preserve Szyk’s memory. Bracie ultimately sold Gooche Arthur Szyk’s personal archives, which included his wife Julia Szyk’s memoirs.[22] Gooche sold the archives to Ungar in 1997.
The Arthur Szyk Society
George Gooche founded The Arthur Szyk Society in 1991, establishing the nonprofit in Orange County, California, “to disseminate the artist's work and ideals.”[23] In 1997, Ungar assumed responsibility for the Society and moved its headquarters to Burlingame, establishing a new Board of Trustees. In his new role as President of the Society, and later as Society Curator, Ungar increased Szyk’s visibility over a 20-year period through lectures, newsletters, art history papers, and exhibitions, including the traveling exhibition “Justice Illuminated: The Art of Arthur Szyk.”[24]
Ungar authored his first essay on Szyk in 1999 in Biblio magazine, with co-author and Szyk biographer Joseph P. Ansell.[30] His other notable essays include an examination of Nostra aetate and De profundis for Moment magazine;[31] Szyk as an “artist for freedom” for Washington’s Rebuke to Bigotry;[32] Szyk’s legacy as a “fighter for justice” for Dziedzictwo Polsko-Zydowskiego Artysty (The Legacy of the Polish-Jewish Artist);[33] a history of The Szyk Haggadah for Freedom Illuminated;[34] Szyk’s Holocaust art for The Holocaust and Nostra Aetate: Toward a Greater Understanding;[35] and a look at Szyk’s role as Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “soldier in art” for the Norman Rockwell Museum’s traveling exhibition, “Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms.”[36] Ungar was interviewed by Rabbi Mark S. Golub in a one-hour program for the Jewish Broadcasting Service,[37] and was profiled by Steven Heller for the American Institute of Graphic Arts[38] and The Atlantic.[39]
Through the Historicana imprint, Ungar published, edited, and/or produced several books about Arthur Szyk, including Justice Illuminated: The Art of Arthur Szyk (co-publisher and author);[40]The Szyk Haggadah[41] and its companion volume Freedom Illuminated: Understanding The Szyk Haggadah (publisher, co-editor with Byron Sherwin, contributor);[42]Heroes of Ancient Israel: The Playing Card Art of Arthur Szyk (publisher);[43]Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art (co-publisher, editor, and contributor),[44] which won a 2017 National Jewish Book Award in the category of Visual Arts,[45] and Arthur Szyk Preserved (co-editor with Samantha Lyons).[46] In addition to books, Historicana produced documentary films about Arthur Szyk. In collaboration with filmmaker Jim Ruxin, these films include “Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art,”[47][48] “In Every Generation: Remaking the Szyk Haggadah,”[49] and “Soldier in Art: Arthur Szyk—America’s Weapon Against Nazi Germany.”[50]
Rabbi Byron Sherwin, a renowned Jewish theologian, scholar, and author, collaborated closely with Ungar on several key projects. As Spertus Institute Distinguished Service Professor and Director of Doctoral Programs,[58] Sherwin worked with Ungar on the 1998 Spertus Museum exhibition, “Justice Illuminated: The Art of Arthur Szyk,” and wrote the introduction for the accompanying book of the same title.[59] For The Arthur Szyk Society’s Seymour FromerTraveling Exhibition Program, also entitled “Justice Illuminated: The Art of Arthur Szyk,” Sherwin wrote the panel text for the traveling photo-mural panels and the accompanying study guide.[60]
Sherwin's most significant collaboration with Ungar was the creation of a new edition of Szyk's Haggadah, originally published in 1940. Published in 2008 as a limited edition,[61] and republished in collaboration with Abrams Books in 2011 as a trade edition,[5] Historicana's The Szyk Haggadah was reproduced entirely from Szyk’s original artwork,[62] the first Szyk Haggadah reproduction since 1940 to do so.[63] For The Szyk Haggadah, Sherwin provided a new English translation from the original Hebrew text and wrote the commentary.[41] Sherwin also served as co-editor for The Szyk Haggadah's companion volume, Freedom Illuminated: Understanding the Szyk Haggadah.[42] Several cultural institutions—including the Vatican,[64] the Metropolitan Museum of Art,[65] the British Library,[64] the Library of Congress,[66] and Princeton University[67]—hold a copy of The Szyk Haggadah and Freedom Illuminated in their special collections.
Sale of the collection and Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art
In 2017, Tad Taube of Taube Philanthropies provided the funding to UC Berkeley to purchase The Arthur Szyk Collection from Ungar for the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life. The $10.1 million gift was "the largest single monetary gift to acquire art in the long history of UC Berkeley."[17] The collection consisted of 450 original paintings, illustrations, and sketches spanning Szyk's career, as well as thousands of items from Szyk's personal archives.[17]
A few months after the sale of the collection, Ungar co-published, with GILES of London, the book Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art to coincide with the New-York Historical Society exhibition of the same name. Szyk and Ungar received considerable media coverage in 2017 and early 2018,[17][68][69][70][71] thanks in part to press surrounding the sale of the collection, the New York City exhibition, and the Soldier in Art book—which won a National Jewish Book Award from the Jewish Book Council.[72] The Jewish Review of Books notes in a Winter 2018 article that Szyk's “reputation is clearly on the rise again.”[73]
^Gluck, Peggy Isaak (November 20, 1987). "Peninsula rabbi opens new antique Judaica business". Northern California Jewish Bulletin.
^Gluck, Peggy Isaak (April 6, 1990). "Area dealer buys a rare Anne Frank signature". Northern California Jewish Bulletin. 139 (3): 1, 34–35.
^Ungar, Irvin (November 1997). The Birth of a Nation: The Jewish People and the Land of Israel: Zion Anniversary Catalogue. Burlingame, CA: Historicana.
^Ungar, Irvin (August 1995). Masterpieces of Judaica. Burlingame, CA: Historicana.
^Ungar, Irvin (February 2002). Important Judaica including National Treasures of the Jewish People. Burlingame, CA: Historicana.
^Ungar, Irvin (November 1997). The Birth of a Nation. Burlingame, CA: Historicana.
^Ungar, Irvin (2017). "Behind the Great Art and the Great Messages Stands Arthur Szyk, the Great Man". In Ungar, Irvin (ed.). Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art. London: GILES, in association with Historicana and The Arthur Szyk Society. p. 11. ISBN978-1-911282-08-2.
^Heller, Steven (2017). "Preface". In Ungar, Irvin (ed.). Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art. London: GILES, in association with Historicana and The Arthur Szyk Society. p. 9. ISBN978-1-911282-08-2.
^Goldmann, A.J. (April 20, 2009). "New Life for Arthur Szyk". Forward. The Forward Association, Inc. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
^Ungar, Irvin (2015). "Arthur Szyk: Artist for Freedom". In Strom, Adam (ed.). Washington's Rebuke to Bigotry. Brookline, Massachusetts: Facing History And Ourselves. pp. 149–164. ISBN978-1940457116.
^Ungar, Irvin (2011). "Building Bridges: The Legacy of Polish-Jewish Artist Arthur Szyk, Fighter for Justice and Freedom". In Skotnicki, Aleksander B. (ed.). Dziedzictwo Polsko-Zydowskiego Artysty (The Legacy of the Polish-Jewish Artist). Krakow: Stradomskie Centrum Dialogu.
^Ungar, Irvin (2008). "Telling the Story: A History of The Szyk Haggadah". In Ungar, Irvin; Sherwin, Byron (eds.). Freedom Illuminated : Understanding the Szyk Haggadah. Burlingame, CA: Historicana. pp. 173–205.
^Ungar, Irvin (2017). "Injustice Illuminated: The Holocaust Art of Arthur Szyk". In Rittner, Carol; Ronda, Tara (eds.). The Holocaust and Nostra Aetate: Toward a Greater Understanding. Greensburg, PA: National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education, Seton Hill University. ISBN978-0983057123.
^Ungar, Irvin (2018). "Arthur Szyk: Immigrant Artist as F.D.R.'s Soldier in Art". In Plunkett, Stephanie Haboush; Kimble, James (eds.). Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt, and the Four Freedoms. New York: Abbeville Press. ISBN978-0789213006.
^Ungar, Irvin (1999). . Justice Illuminated: The Art of Arthur Szyk (Second ed.). Berkeley, CA and Burlingame, CA: Frog, Ltd. and Historicana. ISBN1583940103.
^ abUngar, Irvin; Sherwin, Byron, eds. (2008). The Szyk Haggadah (Deluxe and Premier ed.). Burlingame, CA: Historicana. ISBN978-0979954603.
^Chang, Allison Claire (2011). Heroes of Ancient Israel: The Playing Card Art of Arthur Szyk. Burlingame, CA: Historicana. ISBN978-0979954634.
^Ungar, Irvin; Michael Berenbaum; Tom L. Freudenheim; James Kettlewell (2017). Ungar, Irvin (ed.). Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art (Hardcover ed.). London: GILES, in association with Historicana and The Arthur Szyk Society. ISBN978-1911282082.
^Sherwin, Byron (1999). "Introduction". Justice Illuminated: The Art of Arthur Szyk (Second ed.). Berkeley, CA and Burlingame, CA: Frog, Ltd. and Historicana. pp. 6–7. ISBN1583940103.