Saul Steinberg: Three New Yorkers

The great Saul Steinberg never learned to paint clouds. 

--David Apatoff

"Steinberg's Clouds"

Illustration Art blog post for May 3, 2010

http://illustrationart.blogspot.com/2010/05/steinbergs-clouds.html

There are a couple of late pictures of California churches in which the structures seem so monumental and eternal that the rambunctious life around them is like a puff of air, and even the sky (his skies are very important and most of them seem to embody something special: maybe truth and beauty?) and the rest of nature seem trivialized.

--Red Grooms

"The World According to Steinberg," Review of Saul Steinberg's The Discovery of America

The New York Times Book Review, December 6, 1992

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/06/books/the-world-according-to-steinberg.html?scp=7&sq=red%20grooms%20saul%20steinberg&st=nyt&pagewanted=1

Sometimes Saul Steinberg's unusual treatment of the sky can be overwhelmed by the flashier elements of his compositions. Three New Yorkers is an offbeat 1976 drawing of his that I see as a grotesque elaboration on his paper masks. It allows us to see not only the three said New Yorkers as they apparently wish to present themselves, but also the Chrysler Building and the Guggenheim Museum, all through the uniquely transformative eyes of Steinberg. It is always a privilege to be invited into his fantastical—and, in this case, eccentric—world. And, yes, there are amazing clouds too, but here you would be forgiven for overlooking them at first glance.

This piece is coming up for auction on September 28 at sothebys.com. The estimate is $15,000-$20,000. Bidding starts at $10,000, although the reserve is apparently higher.

Saul Steinberg
Three New Yorkers, 1976

Saul Steinberg
Three New Yorkers, 1976

Saul Steinberg
Sothebys.com Listing Retrieved September 20, 2018

http://timed.sothebys.com/auction-lot/SAUL-STEINBERG-1914-1999-Three-New-Yorkers,_CF0448E84E/

Saul Steinberg
Sothebys.com Description Retrieved September 20, 2018

http://timed.sothebys.com/auction-lot/SAUL-STEINBERG-1914-1999-Three-New-Yorkers,_CF0448E84E/

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02686

Ambassador Pamela Harriman's Copy of Favorite Haunts by Charles Addams

I must have been aware of it when the estate of Ambassador Pamela Harriman was sold off at Sotheby's in 1997—I still have the catalogue, after all—but I can't say I was paying close attention. I did notice though when the Harrimans' personalized copy of Favorite Haunts was listed on eBay a decade later. It sold for $52 on May 2, 2007, less than one would expect for a signed copy of the book even without the Harriman association.  Favorite Haunts, of course, is the 1976 cartoon collection by Charles Addams. I imagine that at the auction it was a part of a large lot of books, some or all of which subsequently were resold individually. This copy is inscribed to Pamela and W. Averell Harriman and today enjoys a home in my library.

Averell and Pamela Harriman's copy of Favorite Haunts by Charles Addams

Sotheby's proof of provenance

Inscribed "For Pam and Ave/all the best/Chas Addams/1976"

The Estate of Ambassador Pamela Harriman
May 19-21, 1997
Sotheby's

Note:  Attempted Bloggery prefers to travel in the best social circles. If you have a cartoon book signed by or to someone in high society, please consider sharing it here. Remember, even people listed in the Social Register need to get their laughs!

Despite my rather deft Google skills, I wasn't able to discover any photographs of Charles Addams with the Harrimans. I'd love to hear from anyone who can help me with this.


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02005

Edward Koren's First Book

Do You Want To Talk About It?, published in 1976, was certainly not Edward Koren's first book, but it may have been his first cartoon collection. At any rate, the drawing he made in Dr. David Pearce's copy of the book betrays a real affection for the volume—something which is totally justified.

Edward Koren
Drawing inscribed "My first book" and "For David [Pearce]/Ed Koren"

in a copy of Do You Want To Talk About It? (1976)

Scan courtesy of David from Manhattan

Note:  Where would I be without David from Manhattan? Once again he has scoured the bookstalls of New York and uncovered an absolutely unique copy of a book by Edward Koren with an original drawing. I invite other dedicated bibliophiles in other cities to do the same and send what you've scoured and scanned to me for possible inclusion in a future blog post.

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01910

Samuel Bak's The Entire City

Holocaust survivor Samuel Bak's painting The Entire City from 1976 is apparently the result of a collaboration with writer Elie Wiesel that was never fully realized. The walled city in the shape of the Star of David represents the Vilna Ghetto.

Samuel Bak, The Entire City, 1976

Samuel Bak, The Entire City, 1976

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