Saul Steinberg: "Airmail Table" and "Artist's Artist (No. 13)"

From Christie's sale of  Post-War and Contemporary Art on September 14 in South Kensington come these two original works on paper by Saul Steinberg.  Steinberg is absolutely one of my favorite artists, but these two particular works do very little for me.  

I like the first, "Airmail Table," certainly more than the second, but ultimately it's all geometric and I believe I have seen him do a better job on the same subject. The second, "Artist's Artist (No. 13)," might have some mildly interesting things going on in the top half, but the large central area strikes me as pretty flat and dull.

Saul Steinberg (1914-1999)
Airmail Table 

Estimate 

£5,000 - £7,000
• ($7,975 - $11,165)

September 14, 2011: Price Realized: £ 6,250

signed and dated 'STEINBERG 1970' (along the lower right)
paper collage, colour pastel, gold leaf, ink and graphite on paper
19 5/8 x 25½in. (49.9 x 64.8cm.)
Executed in 1970 

Special Notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 20% on the buyer's premium.

Provenance

Sidney Janis Gallery, New York.
Acquired from the above by the late Ernst Beyeler.

Sale 3693 Lot 182 
Post-War & Contemporary Art 
14 September 2011
London, South Kensington 

Saul Steinberg (1914-1999)
Artist's Artist (No. 13) 

Lot 183

Estimate 

£4,000 - £6,000
• ($6,380 - $9,570)
September 14, 2011: Price Realized: £ 6,250

signed and dated 'STEINBERG 1969' (lower right)

gouache, ink, crayon and graphite on paper
21½ x 30in. (54.6 x 76.2cm.)
Executed in 1969 

Special Notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 20% on the buyer's premium.

Provenance

Kestner-Gesellschaft Gallery, Hannover.

Galería Ynguanzogal, Madrid.

Sidney Janis Gallery, New York.

Acquired from the above by the late Ernst Beyeler.

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