Customer Reviews

Steinberg at the New Yorker

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2 star:		(1)
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Magnificent. Beautifully reproduced artwork of my favorite cartoonist/illustrator of all time. From pen and ink drawings you've never seen before to full-size New Yorker covers, this book is an amazing resource. I also like the fact that Steinberg's New Yorker covers are reproduced in miniature at the end, in chronological order. But this book is more than an art portfolio. Joel Smith's contributions, which range from the biographical to the curatorial, bring a new level of appreciation to Steinberg's work.

"Steinberg at The New Yorker" makes an important, even indispensable contribution to the understanding of Steinberg's work and life. Not since Harold Rosenberg's discriminating essays on Steinberg has there been such a good source of insight about his procedures and concepts. Ian Frazier's memoir fleshes out this otherwise mysterious character, Joel Smith's commentary offers brief but appropriate insights, the images themselves are wonderful, copious, superbly reproduced--many in full size. A monument to Steinberg and a key historical document at the same time.

This book was a disappointment to me. The writing is too removed from the subject. It has a strong chronological structure, however it is very impersonal. Most of the quotes seem to be pulled from interviews. I would prefer more information about Steinberg's life.

What did he like to eat? Write more about his relationship with Abstract Expressionists. Aren't there any stories about him being funny or having funny experiences in his travels? More about his relationship with Hedda Sterne. Did he speak with an accent? Was he fussy or snobby? Would he have a conversation with the newspaper vendor on the street? Did he feud with anyone besides Tina Brown? More about other New Yorker cartoonists and their relationships.

The book lacks insight and a personal feel. It is shallow and superficial account of his life. If this book were a trip to Europe, it would be like a package deal with a strict itinerary.
Every morning, you get on the bus and travel to another city. All meals are timed with great food. It is over planned and comprehensive. All major sights are seen. As apposed to a trip with a friend, who shows you their favorite restaurant, the unknown museums. Renting a car and exploring the countryside in a spontaneous that is open to discovery.

The art is superior. An awesome selection that shows the breadth and facile charm that attracts me to Steinberg's work.

Having been a New Yorker reader since the 1960s, Saul Steinberg's inexplicable art entered my consciousness at a crucial time in my teenage years, when intellect and humor tend to coalesce into one's individual world view. Ones sense of humor can be as individual as a fingerprint, or as broad as a pie-throwing contest. In Mr. Steinberg's case, he captured subtleties I never had imagined, and contributed mightily to my own personal world view--which could be considered almost as off-kilter as his, without the artistry!!! For many years I diligently collected his and many other New Yorker cartoons, and now, in my 60s, his work is just a part of me and my sensibilities.

Thank you to the author Joel Smith for this rare opportunity to see so much of his genius in one place, and with an insightful text that illuminates his process. No one has done it better than Saul Steinberg to present a portrait of the world in pictures that is not the physical world, but the meaning behind the physical world, the picture that says a thousand words.

If you love Saul Steinberg you will relish this visual feast of his marevlous imaginatin at work.