Saul Steinberg: Gingerbread House

Among his many drawing skills, Saul Steinberg (1914-1999) rendered compelling interiors. His Gingerbread House, published by House & Garden in 1946, is full of ornate detail. Somehow the excess of baroque line creates a sumptuous space. Somehow the limited use of color is just right. Somehow the slightly imperfect one-point perspective draws us into a room we don't want to leave. In 2014, this forgotten gem sold for $16,250.

Saul Steinberg
Los Angeles Modern Auctions, May 18, 2014, lot 87

https://www.lamodern.com/auctions/2014/05/modern-art-design/87

Note:  Please contact me if you have an image of the May 1946 House & Garden in which this drawing appeared on page 81. I seem to have misplaced mine.

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Saul Steinberg: Pont Royal Table

Saul Steinberg's Pont Royal Table is a 1981 mixed media work on wood. It is currently listed by Los Angeles Modern Auctions with a fixed sale price of $35,000.

Saul Steinberg
LAMA listing accessed June 8, 2023

https://www.lamodern.com/auctions/2023/12/post-war-contemporary-art/116395~

It's nice, but is it $35,000 worth of nice? That offering represents a doubling of the price achieved at Sotheby's in 2022, just a year ago:

Saul Steinberg
Sotheby's auction of May 20, 2022

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/contemporary-day-auction-2/pont-royal-table

Note:  For further background information, see the Saul Steinberg Foundation's page on Drawing Table Reliefs.

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Saul Steinberg: An Untitled Paper Bag Mask

A colorful paper bag mask by Saul Steinberg was offered for sale Wednesday at Los Angeles Modern Auctions. The face on the mask is rendered very geometrically, largely with zigzags and meanders, giving the image an imposing yet playful feel. The Matthew Marks Gallery of New York once offered the work and dated it to circa 1967. Later, the Adam Baumgold Gallery, also of New York, held the art and dated it to 1962. The Saul Steinberg Foundation dates the artist's mask output to 1959-1962, so this latter date is more plausible. This week the piece came to auction with a slightly revised date of circa 1962 and with an estimate of $8,000 to $12,000. Online bidding opened at $5,000.

Saul Steinberg
Los Angeles Modern Auctions listing accessed June 18, 2023

https://www.lamodern.com/auctions/2023/06/modern-contemporary-art/168

The lot was passed and is now offered for a flat price of $7,560. This number is the presumed reserve of $6,000 plus the 26% buyer's premium.

Note:  For more on the subject, see the Saul Steinberg Foundation's page on the artist's paper bag masks.

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Helmut Newton: Scene from Pina Bausch's Ballet "The Legend of Virginity"

If memory serves—and it doesn't always—Helmut Newton's 1983 photograph of a scene from Pina Bausch's ballet The Legend of Virginity (Die Keuschheitslegende) was published in the first issue of the revamped Vanity Fair in March of 1983. A signed print of the image came to auction yesterday with an estimate of $5,000 to $7,000, with the bidding opening at $4,000. 

Helmut Newton
Los Angeles Modern Auctions listing accessed June 18, 2023

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/154876132_helmut-newton-scene-from

Helmut Newton
Los Angeles Modern Auctions item description

The sale price was $5,500, not counting the 31% buyer's premium. 

Could it have been the March 1984 issue? No, that's not how I remember it. It turns out I trust my memory more than vanityfair.com.

https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/photos/2010/06/art-director-ruth-ansel-slide-show-201006

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