This talk by Irvin Ungar, will explore The Szyk Haggadah in depth and understand the context in which it was created, against the backdrop of Nazi Europe. The Szyk Haggadah focuses on the messages Arthur Szyk delivered to 1930s European Jewry with his visual commentary.

Arthur Szyk (b. 1894, Lodz, Poland — d. 1951, New Canaan, CT, USA) worked in Poland, France, England, Canada, and the United States, and was renowned during the first half of the twentieth century for his prolific illustrations in books, newspapers, and magazines. His work provides a visual and often acerbic comment on contemporary issues, including World War II, the Holocaust, and the creation of the State of Israel. Szyk’s canon includes his famous illuminated Passover Haggadah, which has been widely distributed in both the U.S. and Israel.

Irvin Ungar, a former pulpit rabbi and antiquarian bookseller, has devoted the past quarter-century to scholarship on Arthur Szyk. He has curated and consulted for numerous Szyk exhibitions, including the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Deutsches Historisches Museum (Berlin), the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Library of Congress, and the New-York Historical Society. Ungar is the author of Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art (winner of the 2017 National Jewish Book Award), co-producer of the documentary film, “Soldier in Art: Arthur Szyk,” and the creator and publisher of the luxury limited edition of The Szyk Haggadah. His most recent book Arthur Szyk Preserved: Institutional Collections of Original Art will be published in Spring, 2023. He has also served as the curator of The Arthur Szyk Society in Burlingame, California.