Saul Steinberg

**From National Book Award winner Deirdre Bair, the definitive biography of

Saul Steinberg, one of _The New Yorker_ 's most iconic artists.**

The issue date was March 29, 1976. _The New Yorker_ cost 75 cents. And on the

cover unfolded Saul Steinberg's vision of the world: New York City, the Hudson

River, and then...well, it's really just a bunch of stuff you needn't concern

yourself with. Steinberg's brilliant depiction of the world according to self-

satisfied New Yorkers placed him squarely in the pantheon of the

magazine's—and the era's—most celebrated artists.

But if you look beyond the searing wit and stunning artistry, you'll find one

of the most fascinating lives of the twentieth century. Born in Romania,

Steinberg was educated in Milan and was already famous for his satirical

drawings when World War II forced him to immigrate to the United States. On a

single day, Steinberg became a US citizen, a commissioned officer in the US

Navy, and a member of the OSS, assigned to spy in China, North Africa, and

Italy. After the war ended, he returned to America and to his art. He quickly

gained entree into influential circles that included Saul Bellow, Vladimir

Nabokov, Willem de Kooning, and Le Corbusier. His wife was the artist Hedda

Sterne, from whom he separated in 1960 but never divorced and with whom he

remained in daily contact for the rest of his life. This conveniently freed

him up to amass a coterie of young mistresses and lovers. But his truly great

love was the United States, where he traveled extensively by bus, train, and

car, drawing, observing, and writing.

His body of work is staggering and influential in ways we may not yet even be

able to fully grasp, quite possibly because there has not been a full-scale

biography of him until now. Deirdre Bair had access to 177 boxes of documents

and more than 400 drawings. In addition, she conducted several hundred

personal interviews. Steinberg's curious talent for creating myths about

himself did not make her job an easy one, but the result is a stunning

achievement to admire and enjoy.

**The electronic version of this title does not contain the 35 Saul Steinberg

illustrations that are available in the print edition.**