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Untitled [Mask]

A work made of black and purple crayons, over graphite with erasing, and white gouache, on cut brown paper bag.
© The Saul Steinberg Foundation

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  • A work made of black and purple crayons, over graphite with erasing, and white gouache, on cut brown paper bag.

Date:

1961-62

Artist:

Saul Steinberg
American, born Romania, 1914-1999

About this artwork

The art critic Harold Rosenberg wrote that Steinberg had introduced a new subject matter into postwar art: “the mystery of individual identity.” Between 1959 and 1963, the artist collaborated with the photographer Inge Morath, having friends and acquaintances wear paper bags on which he had drawn fantastic faces and then posing them for photographs. The resulting images present an array of attitudes, postures, and mannerisms, but the mask drawings themselves are ripe with innuendo.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Saul Steinberg

Title

Untitled [Mask]

Place

United States (Artist's nationality)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1961–1962

Medium

Black and purple crayons, over graphite with erasing, and white gouache, on cut brown paper bag

Dimensions

Max: 36.6 × 19.4 cm (14 7/16 × 7 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of The Saul Steinberg Foundation

Reference Number

2013.1525

Copyright

© The Saul Steinberg Foundation

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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