The Birthday Cake. New York, 1942.

SZYK, Arthur. The Birthday Cake. Signed and Dated “Arthur Szyk N.Y. ‘(19)42”. Black ink and pencil on paper. Sheet size: 14″ x 11″. Image size: 10″ x 9 1/2″. Very Good condition.

Under the major headline of November 7, 1942 (which commemorates specifically the Bolshevik Revolution) three soldiers (Russian, American and British) are cutting into a cake whose frosting reads “Happy 25th Anniversary to Ivan, from his pals Tommy and Sammy, North African Cake, Montgomery & Eisenhower, Second Front Bakery.” Russia, an ally at this time, was united with the Americans and British in fighting against the Germans. Thought to be our friends, little did the free western world imagine that the events at Yalta in July 1945 would turn the helpful Russians against us for many decades.