Fritz Eichenberg, American, born in Germany, 1901 - 1990, The Light, 1945, wood engraving, 9 x 7 in., Saint Vincent College Collection.
Cognizant of an increasingly hostile environment due to the rise of the Nazi party, Fritz Eichenberg resettled his family in New York City in 1933. Trained in the graphic arts, Eichenberg worked as an independent illustrator for various German publications before being employed as an artist for the recently established Works Progress Administration. He became widely known for his commercial illustrations of the literary works of Edgar Allan Poe, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Carl Sandburg, Dylan Thomas, and the Brontë sisters among others.
In 1949, Eichenberg met Catholic social activist Dorothy Day at a religious publishing conference. Eichenberg was a Quaker convert. He described being asked by Day to create prints for the Catholic Worker newspaper: “‘Would you be willing to do some work for our paper?’ she asked with her bewitching smile. I felt I had been knighted-and hooked! Did she know that I was not a Catholic, just recently ‘convinced Friend? Yes, she knew and that didn’t bother her a bit…” Over the course of several years, he created over 100 illustrations, for Day's Catholic Worker. Both Eichenberg and the Catholic Worker were passionate about drawing attention to social injustice, systemic racism, and issues surrounding human dignity. Day encouraged Eichenberg to create illustrations that communicated authentic, emotional experience stating that a number of her readers, were illiterate but readily understood the power of images.
In 1949, Eichenberg met Catholic social activist Dorothy Day at a religious publishing conference. Eichenberg was a Quaker convert. He described being asked by Day to create prints for the Catholic Worker newspaper: “‘Would you be willing to do some work for our paper?’ she asked with her bewitching smile. I felt I had been knighted-and hooked! Did she know that I was not a Catholic, just recently ‘convinced Friend? Yes, she knew and that didn’t bother her a bit…” Over the course of several years, he created over 100 illustrations, for Day's Catholic Worker. Both Eichenberg and the Catholic Worker were passionate about drawing attention to social injustice, systemic racism, and issues surrounding human dignity. Day encouraged Eichenberg to create illustrations that communicated authentic, emotional experience stating that a number of her readers, were illiterate but readily understood the power of images.
