The Miller. The Canterbury Tales. New York, 1945.
SZYK, Arthur. The Miller [Variant]. The Canterbury Tales. Signed and Dated “Arthur Szyk, N.Y. (19)45”. Watercolor and gouache on paper. Sheet size: 7″ x 5 1/2″. Image size: 6″ x 3 1/2″. Very Good condition.
One of Szyk’s most beloved, well remembered works is that of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, published by The Limited Editions Club in 1946.
For unknown reasons, this image was not selected to illustrate “The Miller’s Tale.” Though the similarities are many, differences exist. In this variant he is shown actively playing a set of bagpipes, unlike the published image where the pipes are merely held. The same dirk and dagger appear, as well as the wide-brimmed buckler (shield) on his belt. The Miller’s eyes are droopy and unfocused from the great amount of beer he has consumed at the Inn. Szyk faithfully portrays him as the coarse, “churlish” fellow that Chaucer describes and his massive bulk indicates he might, indeed, be “fit for any tussle.” Szyk’s early work in costume design for the theatre and stage are reflected here in the Miller’s colorful tunic, leggings and hood.
Excerpt from The Prologue of The Canterbury Tales:
“The Miller, big alike of bone and muscle,
Was a stout fellow, fit for any tussle,
And proved so, winning, everywhere he went,
The prize ram in the tournament.
He was thick-shouldered, knotty, broad and tough;
There was no door but he could tear it off
Its hasps, or break it, running, with his head.
His beard as any sow or fox was red,
And broad in shape as if it were a spade,
And at his nose’s very tip displayed
There sat a wart, on which a tuft of hairs
Rose like the bristles on a red sow’s ears;
The nostrils underneath were black and wide,
He bore a sword and buckler at his side.
Broad gaped his mouth as some furnace door.
He would go babbling boastfully, or roar
Jests full of sin and vile scurrility.
He stole, an multiplied his toll by three,
Yet had a golden thumb, as God is true!
He wore a white coat and a hood of blue.
Upon the bagpipes he could blow a ditty,
And piped us out that morning from the city.”
Provenance: Kasimir Bileski: Winnipeg, Canada. In Bileski’s original envelope upon which he wrote: “And here is something extraordinary! The Miller. A unique art treasure: an original Szyk drawing from The Canterbury Tales books. One of 6 not in the possession of the Heritage Press. $350. Quite a bargain as Szyk’s drawings fetch thousands of dollars. Most are in the possession of museums.”
Bileski a Canadian stamp dealer and admirer of Szyk’s art, commissioned Szyk in 1945 to design The Visual History of Nations Series as cover art for philatelic collections of selected individual founding and member countries of the United Nations. Of the approximately sixty colorful and highly detailed images commissioned by Bileski only nine countries were completed and printed prior to Szyk’s sudden death in 1951.
Exhibition History: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Palace of the Legion of Honor, December 4, 2010–March 27, 2011.
Publishing History: Miniature Paintings and Modern Illuminations, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2011, exhibition brochure.
