Saul Steinberg

Saul Erik Steinberg (1914–1999), a Romanian-American artist, developed a body of work spanning editorial drawing, books, mural painting and applied design. The covers, drawings and cartoons published in The New Yorker over nearly six decades form a major part of his practice. These publications were accompanied by large-scale projects, such as a series of eight murals, and occasional commissions, including the label designed for Mouton Rothschild 1983. He began studying sociology and psychology at the University of Bucharest, then continued his architectural training at the Politecnico di Milano, completing it in 1940. It was during his studies that he began drawing and publishing in the humour weekly Bertoldo. This early editorial activity preceded his long years of collaboration with the American press.

In 1958, for the United States Pavilion at the Brussels World’s Fair, Steinberg created The Americans: eight murals with a total length of 70 metres. The ensemble was presented at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne in 2013. His printed work includes the books All in Line (1945), The Art of Living (1949) and The Passport (1954). He also designed the label for Mouton Rothschild 1983. Among the documented works is Allegory II, dated 1970, made using mixed media including ink, coloured pencil, collage and a stamp.

A notice devoted to Allegory II mentions its presentation at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York in 1978, as well as its colour reproduction in the catalogue Saul Steinberg, published that year. Harold Rosenberg’s book of the same title was also published in 1978 by Alfred A. Knopf. Exhibitions devoted to the artist were subsequently held at the ginza graphic gallery in Tokyo in 2021 and, in 2023, at the Museum der Moderne Salzburg, in a presentation pairing his work with that of Inge Morath. Steinberg was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1968, and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1978.

Works recorded at auction

Kornfeld · Lot 858

Certified landscape II

Tusche und Stempel auf Papier

Catalogue period : 2019-06-13

Published result : 23000 CHF

Hammer price, excluding fees

Estimate : CHF 20000

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Germann

Allegory II, 1970

Mischtechnik. Tusche, Farbstift, Collage und Stempel.

Date to be documented

Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed

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