The New Order

New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1941. Book has gift inscription on free end page. Jacket vg, has some sunning and wear on spine and a bit of writing in pencil otherwise in nice condition. Arthur Szyk (Polish: ['artur ??k]; June 16, 1894 – September 13, 1951) was a Polish-Jewish artist who worked primarily as a book illustrator and political artist throughout his career. Arthur Szyk was born into a prosperous middle-class Jewish family in Lódz,[1][2] in the part of Poland which was under Russian rule in the 19th century. An acculturated Polish Jew, Szyk always proudly regarded himself both as a Pole and a Jew.[3] From 1921, he lived and created his works mainly in France and Poland, and in 1937 he moved to the United Kingdom. In 1940, he settled permanently in the United States, where he was granted American citizenship in 1948. Arthur Szyk became a renowned artist and book illustrator as early as the interwar period. His works were exhibited and published not only in Poland, but also in France, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States. However, he gained broad popularity in the United States primarily through his political caricatures, in which, after the outbreak of World War II, he savaged the policies and personalities of the leaders of the Axis powers. After the war, he also devoted himself to political issues, especially the support of the creation of the state of Israel. Szyk's work is characterized in its material content by social and political commitment, and in its formal aspect by its rejection of modernism and embrace of the traditions of medieval and renaissance painting, especially illuminated manuscripts from those periods. Unlike most caricaturists, Szyk always showed great attention to the colouristic effects and details in his works. Today, Szyk is an increasingly well-known and often exhibited artist only in his last home country, the United States. However, exhibitions in Poland and Germany are familiarizing Europe with one of the most prolific artists of World War II.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good +/Very Good. Illus. by Color & b/w Illustrations.