Saul Steinberg: Illuminations
Dulwich Picture Gallery, until 15 February 2009
Cartoons & Coronets: The Genius of Osbert Lancaster
The Wallace Collection, until 11 January 2009
Saul Steinberg (1914–99) was born in Romania and studied architecture in 1930s Milan. His first cartoons appeared in 1936 and he began to build a reputation, despite the threat of war. In 1941 he was interned briefly, then fled Italy to the Dominican Republic, while applying for American citizenship. His first cartoon for the New Yorker appeared in 1941, and by 1942 he was in the States. Registering for the draft, he worked in propaganda for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in North Africa and then back in Italy. In 1945 his first book of drawings was published and sold over 20,000 copies. His long and very successful career was underway.
They call him ‘the comic genius of modernism’ and rank him ‘amongst the greatest draughtsmen of the modern era’. The praise is too high, the assessment sadly off mark. You only have to compare him to Hockney, whom he superficially resembles, to see that he doesn’t have the emotional depth, resonance or range that Hockney does. And to put Steinberg next to Picasso or Matisse would be simply embarrassing. This is not to discredit Steinberg, simply to get his achievement in perspective. We are so hedged in by superlatives these days that critical objectivity is constantly under threat. Steinberg was a good and original cartoonist, and a superb creator of covers for the New Yorker, but he was not a great modern artist, and no amount of puff will alter that. Not even his own Foundation (very American that: most of our best artists in England don’t get their own Foundations, even when they really need them), nor a vast catalogue will make the slightest difference to his talent.
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in