Latest Addition To The Spill Cartoon Library: Steinberg’s Art Of Living
Was pleased to welcome this tattered copy of Steinberg’s second collection, The Art Of Living (Harper & Bros., 1949) to the Spill cartoon library.
Deirdre Bair, in her hefty biography of Steinberg tells us that the book had at least three contenders for a title before The Art Of Living was chosen: Wrong Century, Maybe; The Wrong Century; Rapid Transit. Ms. Bair also writes that “the reception for The Art Of Living was tepid.”
You see on the front flap that “about two-thirds of the drawings are published here for the first time.” In other words, for someone (much like myself) who has been through issues of The New Yorker from that period (1945-1949), there’s plenty of work new-to-the-eye.
In my continual hemming and hawing over Steinberg’s work, the book set me back a bit. I missed seeing his color work (there are no color pieces in the book). Browsing through, I recognized some of The New Yorker work (there are 84 New Yorker drawings included) but after awhile I could no longer tell if I’d seen the work before or not. The drawings became much like rows of fabulous pastries behind glass in a bakery display case. There’s a bit of a graphic roller coaster ride to the contents. Some drawings are classic Steinbergian “simple” pieces: two fellows greeting each other; one fellow tips his hat, the other fellow tips his hatted head. And then there’s the full page, over-the-top weedsy exploration of a situation. In the drawing of a theater’s grand lobby, the detail is, like a multi-tier wedding cake — quite a sight, at first glance.