It’s Hop(e)less, Unless We Have Another “Element of Surprise” Like Pearl Harbor. New York, 1942.

SZYK, Arthur. “It’s Hopeless, Unless we Have Another ‘Element of Surprise’ Like Pearl Harbor.” Signed and Dated “Arthur Szyk, N.Y. (19)42”. Pen and ink on paper. Sheet size: 8 1/2″ x 6″. Image size: 6 1/2″ x 5 1/4″. Very Good condition.

“It’s hopeless, unless we have another ‘element of surprise’ like Pearl Harbor,” whines Prime Minister Tojo to Admiral Yamamoto, the architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor and minister of the Navy. The Rising Sun flag of the Japanese empire has fallen during the fighting as have many of its soldiers while the two military commanders casually discuss the Pacific island battle raging behind them. A squadron of United States fighter aircraft pummels the beach with bombs. The U.S. flag is firmly rooted in the background.

After dominating the Pacific in early 1942 with the capture of Burma, Malaya, Singapore, and the Dutch East Indies, the fortunes of the Japanese turned sour mid-year. Their uninterrupted string of victories ended with history’s first great carrier battles. In May 1942 the Battle of the Coral Sea halted a Japanese offensive in the south Pacific. A month later the Japanese suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Midway in the central Pacific. The tide had begun to turn.

Provenance: Alexandra Szyk Bracie, daughter of Arthur Szyk.