Sketch of Frieze with Camel. Haifa, 1914.

SZYK, Arthur. Sketch of Frieze with Camel. (Haifa, 1914.) Pencil and ink on paper. Sheet size: 3 7/8″ x 6″. Very Good condition.

Rendered on the verso of a postcard from the Hotel Central in Haifa, Palestine, this unique drawing offers a jewel-like glimpse into Szyk’s voracious habit of sketching. A few preparatory ink smudges on the right further emphasize that this piece is a study, an impression of something real or imagined that Szyk wished to record and take with him. Centered neatly on the tiny page, we see a grand entrance, consisting of two doors inset into the face of the building, topped with a decorative frieze. It is unclear whether the details of the frieze are embellishments of Szyk’s imagination, or whether they belong to a real building in Haifa. The frieze depicts a tranquil village seen, a few small houses tucked between large patches of foliage. Above the houses, large white clouds billow across a sky stippled with small dots of ink, lending the scene a decorative, mosaic feel. In the foreground, a camel wearing an elaborate harness and saddle strides into the picture plane. Szyk conveys a convincing, placid beauty in this architectural scene not much larger than a playing card.

This work participates in an esthetic common at the time among Bezalel School artists who were seeking to create and define a “Zionist art.” The young artists Zev Raban and Efrain Lilien were active in Palestine around the time of Szyk’s 1914 visit to the Holy Land. Although Szyk did not take up these artistic goals in the long-term, in this piece he experiments with the ideas and styles of other young Zionist artists at the time.

Provenance: Alexandra Szyk Bracie, daughter of Arthur Szyk.

Accompanied with Study of a Man in Middle Eastern Attire. (Haifa, 1914). Pencil and ink on paper. Sheet size: 3 7/8″ x 6″. Very Good condition.