The United States of America was the first Visual History commissioned by Kasimir Bileski as part of Arthur Szyk's Visual History of Nations Series. The original work of art for the U.S.A image was larger than all the works that followed. It was reproduced in a very limited quantity as a Heliochrome Lithograph on a heavy stock of paper, the same size as the original, with the image size measuring 12" x 10".
To understand the elements Arthur Szyk incorporated in his miniature painted history of the United States, you need to understand the artist. Throughout his life his paintings reflected his dedication to the issues of individual and national freedom, human dignity and religious toleration.
In the 1930's, over a two-year period, Szyk created a series of 38 miniatures of the American Revolution which he entitled "Washington and His Times." These paintings were purchased by the President of Poland and presented as a gift to Franklin D. Roosevelt. These works hung in the White House until Roosevelt's death, and are now at the Roosevelt Museum in Hyde Park, New York.
In 1940 the war drove Szyk from Europe, and he and his wife settled in New Canaan, Connecticut, where he lived until his death in 1951. It was here he painted his conception of the entire history of the United States. Known for his meticulous research, it is not surprising to see his choice of elements.
Featured at the top is the eagle, historic and American symbol of freedom and power. Szyk interestingly pictures the Black and Indian, both of whom have struggled to experience those rights.
The sailor and soldier have been agents for preserving the American dream of freedom. The farmer and industrial worker developed the land which, in time, supported the factory which, in turn, advanced and built the American industrial economy.
Water represents the abundance of natural resources available to the nation...depicted as dams (as a source of energy), waterways (as a means of recreation and transportation) and inlets (requiring the ingenuity to master by bridge building). The railroads opened the West and unified the country. So followed the urbanization of America, as new cities arose.
The Pony Express, only operated for a few months, symbolized to Szyk the perseverance,
endurance, and plain will to accomplish. He also saw it as prelude to modern air travel,
which carried the American dream into the twentieth century. Intertwined in the
background are the beaver, buffalo, squirrel and bear, each cohabitant with the human
population of the nation and an integral part of the American fabric.
