1979

March 2, leaves for Paris, then Barcelona and Nice. Attends opening of the Whitney retrospective at the Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul-de-Vence; two days later, goes to Madrid with his niece, Daniela. Returns to New York, March 14.

April 25, speaks at the memorial for Harold Rosenberg at the New York Public Library.

August, writes to Aldo Buzzi about the drawings he is doing based on chamber of commerce postcards and his own travels: “I’m completely finished with my view of Milan…and other so-called views of Athens, Papantla, etc., which strike me as the equivalent of short stories.”

Original drawing for the portfolio “Postcards,” The New Yorker, February 25, 1980. Milan Italy, 1976. Colored pencil, crayon, and pencil on paper, 14 3/8 x 21 ¼ in. The Saul Steinberg Foundation.
Original drawing for the portfolio “Postcards,” The New Yorker, February 25, 1980. Milan Italy, 1976. Colored pencil, crayon, and pencil on paper, 14 3/8 x 21 ¼ in. The Saul Steinberg Foundation.
Original drawing for the portfolio “Postcards,” The New Yorker, February 25, 1980. Athens Greece, 1978. Colored pencil, crayon, and pencil on paper, 15 x 22 ½ in. The Saul Steinberg Foundation.
Original drawing for the portfolio “Postcards,” The New Yorker, February 25, 1980. Athens Greece, 1978. Colored pencil, crayon, and pencil on paper, 15 x 22 ½ in. The Saul Steinberg Foundation.
National Library, Athens, postcard from Steinberg’s collection. Saul Steinberg Papers, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
National Library, Athens, postcard from Steinberg’s collection. Saul Steinberg Papers, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
Original drawing for the portfolio “Postcards,” The New Yorker, February 25, 1980. Papantla (Verzcruz), Mexico. Colored pencil and pencil on paper, 14 ¼ x 20 ½ in. The Saul Steinberg Foundation.
Original drawing for the portfolio “Postcards,” The New Yorker, February 25, 1980. Papantla (Verzcruz), Mexico. Colored pencil and pencil on paper, 14 ¼ x 20 ½ in. The Saul Steinberg Foundation.

October 10, in Chicago to speak at Harold Rosenberg’s memorial, University of Chicago. Then goes on to Tucson to visit a cousin, Phil Steinberg, an electronics repairman, whom he has never met. The visit gave him “an idea of what I’d be like without education, without success…[it] left me with an exquisite taste of an authentic person.”

October 17, death of New Yorker humorist S.J. Perelman, a friend since the 1940s. ST later said that when he arrived in America in 1942, Perelman’s comic writing gave him an invaluable shortcut to the clichés of American culture.

Also in October, his New York City apartment is robbed. The thief “made off with all my gold cufflinks and the [gold] medallions from various Academies….I’m sorry about some of the cufflinks….”

2nd edition of The Passport is published, with some drawings substituted.

November, writes to Aldo Buzzi: “These days my drawings are being bought by rich people—as investments. What a responsibility! Good fortune or bad luck for widows and orphans.”

December, resumes playing the violin, which he had played as a child. His violin is a gift from Alexander Schneider. “Playing it loudly, out in the country, with no neighbors nearby, is a pleasure.” Over the next two years, takes lessons, plays with a trio and, informally, with Schneider.

Original drawing for the portfolio “Cousins,” The New Yorker, May 28, 1979. Untitled, 1978. Pencil and colored pencil on paper, 10 ½ x 13 ¾ in. The Saul Steinberg Foundation.
Original drawing for the portfolio “Cousins,” The New Yorker, May 28, 1979. Untitled, 1978. Pencil and colored pencil on paper, 10 ½ x 13 ¾ in. The Saul Steinberg Foundation.

Around this time, begins drawing portraits from life of Sigrid and visitors to Amagansett as well as realistic watercolor still lifes. Some are included in the 1983 publication Dal Vero.

Aldo Buzzi and Sigrid Spaeth, October 4, 1980. Colored pencil and pencil on paper, 13 ¼ x 16 ¾ in. The Saul Steinberg Foundation. Included in Dal Vero, 1983.
Aldo Buzzi and Sigrid Spaeth, October 4, 1980. Colored pencil and pencil on paper, 13 ¼ x 16 ¾ in. The Saul Steinberg Foundation. Included in Dal Vero, 1983.
Flowers, Ink Bottle and Toy Car, 1981. Watercolor and crayon on paper, 21 ¾ x 29 ¾ in. Private Collection.
Flowers, Ink Bottle and Toy Car, 1981. Watercolor and crayon on paper, 21 ¾ x 29 ¾ in. Private Collection.

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