Attempted Bloggery: Blog Post 4800: Saul Steinberg, Artist

Thursday, November 14, 2024

Blog Post 4800: Saul Steinberg, Artist

Was Saul Steinberg an artist?
—Deidre Bair

Funny you should ask. That baffling question posed by Saul Steinberg's own biographer Deirdre Bair has been addressed several times by art critics and others. Yet at least a few of us who champion Steinberg's work from the sidelines are still infuriated by the very idea. Can the question over Steinberg's status as an artist, as opposed to a cartoonist, ever be put to rest?

A new Spanish exhibition has the very deliberate and telling title "Saul Steinberg, artista." Write me if you need a translation. That should be taken as an answer to Bair's query, one that will, it is to be hoped, endure. This show is the first in Spain ever dedicated to the work of Steinberg and it is his largest solo exhibition ever. It is currently on view at the Fundación Juan March in Madrid.

I'm pleased to report that gallery photos have been provided to this blog courtesy of a recent visitor; let's call him our man in Madrid. In addition, I have interspersed seven promotional photos from the Fundación Juan March's website with all the proper title, ownership, and copyright information. Going even beyond that, I have added two New Yorker magazine covers which correspond to the original art on display because—let's face it—we all know I can't help myself.

So here, for starters, is the exhibition entrance with an enlarged photograph of Steinberg down on the floor surrounded by his drawings. Is he checking them over? Choosing among them? Or is he just posing for the camera?

False documents:

Looking up:

Interior:

The Museum, c. 1949:

Compare with the March's scan:

The Museum, c. 1949
Saul Steinberg
Carol and Douglas Cohen Collection
© The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VEGAP, Madrid, 2024

https://www.march.es/en/madrid/exhibitions/saul-steinberg-artist

Two maps: a study or rough alongside the famous New Yorker cover art.

View of the World From 9th Avenue, 1976

Saul Steinberg
Private collection

https://www.march.es/en/madrid/exhibitions/saul-steinberg-artist

And, while we're on the subject of New Yorker covers:

New York Taxis, 1977

Saul Steinberg

Carol and Douglas Cohen Collection

https://www.march.es/en/madrid/exhibitions/saul-steinberg-artist

Kamerun, Central Africa, 1987:

Cat and bird:

Sleeping cat, Eames Fiberglass armchair:

Family portraits:

Rainbow, 1974:

Mural:

The exhibition space:

Still Life, 1980:

Drawing table, 1966:

Straphangers, 1964:

City Scape, 1956

Saul Steinberg

Michael Cohen Collection

https://www.march.es/en/madrid/exhibitions/saul-steinberg-artist

Steinberg's masks, including some photographs by Inge Morath:

Untitled, 1961-1962

Saul Steinberg

Museum der Moderne Salzburg

https://www.march.es/en/madrid/exhibitions/saul-steinberg-artist

Masks and landscapes:

A landscape, drawing and writing the Steinberg name, a photo, and a Galerie Maeght poster:

The landscape on the right may be seen in the photograph of Steinberg on the floor displayed at the entrance to the exhibition:

Piano lessons, a drawing on music paper:

1978:

Happy birthday to friend Aldo Buzzi, construction, 1974:

Still Life Chair, 1981

Saul Steinberg

Galerie Claude Bernard

https://www.march.es/en/madrid/exhibitions/saul-steinberg-artist

Steinberg's books:

Steinberg's many New Yorker covers:

They're worth a closer look:

And:

The catalogue:

https://tienda.march.es/catalogos-de-exposiciones/16678-saul-steinberg-artista.html

Nueva exposición:

"Saul Steinberg, artista"

La March

Untitled, 1963

Saul Steinberg

Private collection

https://www.march.es/en/madrid/exhibitions/saul-steinberg-artist

My thanks to our man in Madrid for all the swell photos and for staying out of Havana. All the artwork shown above, as you well know, is © The Saul Steinberg Foundation. "Saul Steinberg, artista" will be on view at the Fundación Juan March through January 12, 2025. See it and let me know your answer to my own impertinent question: Was Saul Steinberg a cartoonist?