At a local bookstore earlier this month, I found a signed copy of Kafka Does Stand-Up: Cartoons on Books and Writers (2023) by Sidney Harris. It's a little scuffed but at $9, I figured why not? It's fairly new and, truthfully, I had not heard of it. The book lists twenty-five other cartoon collections by Harris, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised that I haven't kept up.
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In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #970 from the issue of December 1, 2025, the setting is a library (or maybe a bookstore). A librarian with a cart is talking to a woman in the Psychology section while they look at the Grim Reaper browsing nearby in the Self-Help section. The librarian speaks. My entry appears below. The drawing is by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell.
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| "I'll start wheezing and lead him to the travel section." |
These captions needed to be shelved:
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| "Why shouldn't he want to work more efficiently?" "He'll never find anything to replace chess." "I wouldn't mind some new life goals." "He should be working on his people skills." |
December 20, 2025 Update: The Finalists
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| "I realize acceptance at Smith means little to you at the moment, dear, but you'll see—you'll meet freaks there who will be your friends for life." Donald Reilly Original art The New Yorker, July 24, 1971, p. 70 |
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| "I realize acceptance at Smith means little to you at the moment, dear, but you'll see—you'll meet freaks there who will be your friends for life." Donald Reilly Framed original art The New Yorker, July 24, 1971, p. 70 |
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| Donald Reilly Swann Galleries listing of June 5, 2018 |
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| "I realize acceptance at Smith means little to you at the moment, dear, but you'll see—you'll meet freaks there who will be your friends for life." Donald Reilly The New Yorker, July 24, 1971, p. 70 |
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| "I realize acceptance at Smith means little to you at the moment, dear, but you'll see—you'll meet freaks there who will be your friends for life." Donald Reilly Original art The New Yorker, July 24, 1971, p. 70 |
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| With a spot drawing of books and a cartoon by Donald Reilly |
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| Artist Unidentified Spot drawing The New Yorker, July 24, 1971, p. 70 |
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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?
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| The Museum, c. 1949 Saul Steinberg Carol and Douglas Cohen Collection © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VEGAP, Madrid, 2024 |
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| View of the World From 9th Avenue, 1976 Saul Steinberg Private collection © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VEGAP, Madrid, 2024 Photograph: Alister Alexander, Camerarts Studio Graphic |
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New York Taxis, 1977 Saul Steinberg Carol and Douglas Cohen Collection © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VEGAP, Madrid, 2024 |
Kamerun, Central Africa, 1987:
Cat and bird:
Rainbow, 1974:
Straphangers, 1964:
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City Scape, 1956 Saul Steinberg Michael Cohen Collection © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VEGAP, Madrid, 2024 |
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Untitled, 1961-1962 Saul Steinberg Museum der Moderne Salzburg © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VEGAP, Madrid, 2024 |
Masks and landscapes:
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:
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Still Life Chair, 1981 Saul Steinberg Galerie Claude Bernard © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VEGAP, Madrid, 2024 |
Steinberg's books:
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| https://tienda.march.es/catalogos-de-exposiciones/16678-saul-steinberg-artista.html |
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Untitled, 1963 Saul Steinberg Private collection © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VEGAP, Madrid, 2024 |
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