Guest For Your Show
"The Art of Symeon Shimin" With text from Symeon Shimin, Edited and Curated by Tonia Shimin
From Hollywood to Beloved Children’s Book Illustrator to Muralist and Painter of Justice, Symeon Shimin Left His Mark and a Legacy that Resonates Today
Can you recall it to memory? The most iconic movie poster in history—Gone With the Wind!
It was created by a man who was also equally one-of-a-kind. Whose life could rival the drama in that storied film. And who stood for those less-favored by an America of the mid-20th century—poor children, people of color and the beaten—in his fine art.
And now a beautifully-illustrated coffee table book, presents for the first time a view of the life and art of this Russian-born, New York-based, Jewish artist. The Art of Symeon Shimin, returns this man’s life to the forefront, as many of the issues that roiled his images are now still making headlines. Symeon, as his daughter Tonia Shimin, reminds us today was an influential figure in multiple spheres.
Acclaimed as an illustrator of children’s books, Shimin is also known as the painter of the original Gone With the Wind movie poster and the creator of Contemporary Justice and The Child, the highly praised mural located in the Department of Justice Building, Washington, DC. Throughout his life, 1902-1984, Shimin's deep involvement in the quest for justice and human rights was paramount to the way he lived and painted. Showcasing the only cohesive collection of his fine art, this book brings into focus a unique and meaningful perspective of his extraordinary gifts. In addition, the autobiography and essays in the book provide a unique and meaningful contribution to the world of art.
Symeon’s works grew out of his own experience with oppression and poverty. Escaping the violent pogroms in Russia in 1912, Symeon arrived in New York as a 10-year-old with his family, but found a hard-scrabble life on the streets of Brooklyn, helping to support the family by delivering groceries 13 hours a day. With a passion for music he sought to become a musician, only to be denied by his father. Instead the youngster turned to drawing “with fidelity to reality.”
Symeon spoke his rage and demand for justice through his paint brush. But much of his work embodied and celebrated the beauty of humanity. His work, lauded by Time Magazine, The Washington Post, Art News and Art Journal has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, National Gallery in Washington, Art Institute in Chicago, the Whitney Museum of Art in New York City and the Chrysler Museum of Art. To see some of these images, visit www.symeonshimin.com
But while much of his art career may have faded into history, his children’s books have continued to populate the shelves of youngsters worldwide. Whether his own or with some of the leading children’s and Jewish authors of the 20th century, he was revered in his later years by the children’s book world.
And with the publication The Art of Symeon Shimin and cries for justice ringing out in our land again, this seminal artist demands revisiting. His daughter Tonia can ably tell his story and speak of her memories as she watched her father soar in Hollywood and yet struggle with the plight of those who were disenfranchised and oppressed by injustice.
Tonia Shimin Author Biography
As a dancer Tonia Shimin performed in the companies of Martha Graham, Jose Limón, Pearl Lang, The Ypsilanti Greek Theater and as a soloist with Anna Sokolow's Player's Project, Mary Anthony Dance Theater and Repertory West Dance Company. She has had an extensive teaching career in the United States and abroad. Her choreographic works have appeared in the United States, the Czech Republic, Russia, Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, Greece, Italy and Mexico. An award winning dance filmmaker, for among others the documentary Mary Anthony: A life in Modern Dance, her awards have included support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance. Currently she is Professor Emerita of the Department of Theater and Dance at the University of California, Santa Barbara and continues her creative work in the USA and abroad. Most recently she has curated, edited and with Mercury Press International published the award winning book, The Art of Symeon Shimin, on the remarkable work of her father, whose fine art is here shown in a collection for the first time.
