The Early Years
This chapter traces the early years of Arthur Szyk's life, from his birth to the early nineteenth century, before World War II began. He was born in Łódź, an industrial city in the Russian-dominated portion of Poland, in 1894. At the time Poland was not an intact, independent nation; it had been partitioned among Russia, Prussia, and Austria more than a century earlier. It was within this backdrop that the young Szyk began cultivating an interest in art. He also began to develop a passionate interest in history, both world history and the history of his people. More importantly, even at this very early age, Szyk saw the power of art within the political arena. The chapter tracks his early career in the arts during the early 1900s, and how he began to apply politics to his creative work as tensions between Poland and Russia reached their breaking point.