The Bennett Center for Judaic Studies will welcome Irvin Ungar, the leading expert on illustrator-activist Arthur Szyk, for the virtual 2021 Samuel and Bettie Roberts Lecture in Jewish Art.
On Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 7:30 p.m., the Samuel and Bettie Roberts Lecture in Jewish Art will be given by Irvin Ungar — a rabbi, antiquarian, and the world’s foremost expert on illustrator-activist Arthur Szyk. The virtual lecture is free and open to the public and will be delivered as a Zoom webinar. Register to attend at fairfield.edu/bennettprograms.
In his lecture, “Arthur Szyk and the Art of the Haggadah,” Ungar will share insights from The Szyk Haggadah. Hebrew for "the telling," the Haggadah is a book used during the Passover Seder to share the story of the Exodus from Egypt and to guide participants through the rites of the Seder meal.
The brilliant political imagery of Szyk’s Haggadah highlights the injustices and horrors of the World War II period and delivers an inspirational message for humanity’s future interdependence. Ungar will explore how Szyk’s powerful visual commentary resonated with 1930s European Jewry.
Arthur Szyk was born in Lodz, Poland in 1894 and worked in Poland, France, England, Canada, and the United States. Acclaimed for his prolific illustrations in books, newspapers, and magazines, Szyk provided 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 illuminated Haggadah, which has been widely distributed in both the U.S. and Israel.
Irvin Ungar, a former pulpit rabbi and antiquarian bookseller specializing in historic Judaica, has devoted the past quarter-century to scholarship on Szyk. He has curated and consulted for numerous Szyk exhibitions, including ones at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, the Deutsches Historisches Museum (Berlin), the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Library of Congress, and the New York Historical Society. He is the author of Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art (winner of the 2017 National Jewish Book Award), co-producer of the documentary Soldier in Art: Arthur Szyk, and creator and publisher of the luxury limited edition of .
“Ungar has helped me see visual images and political messages in The Szyk Haggadah that I previously hadn’t noticed,” said Dr. Ellen Umansky, Director of the Bennett Center. “I look forward to what I know will be an engaging and eye-opening talk.”
The February 24 lecture will be held online at 7:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Register at fairfield.edu/bennettprograms for a program link.
