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Downtown Building

A work made of collage of cut-and-pasted commercially printed papers, and pen and black ink, over graphite with erasing, ruled in graphite, on ivory wove paper.
© The Saul Steinberg Foundation

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  • A work made of collage of cut-and-pasted commercially printed papers, and pen and black ink, over graphite with erasing, ruled in graphite, on ivory wove paper.

Date:

1952

Artist:

Saul Steinberg
American, born Romania, 1914-1999

About this artwork

Collage—combining disparate elements to make a whole—is arguably the most important creative technique introduced by modern artists. It is utilized across many artistic media, from drawing to filmmaking, and it was a constant in Steinberg’s toolbox. Here he pokes serious fun at superfluous architectural details, composing his skyscraper of cut-and-pasted printed illustrations, substituting pictures of a pipe organ and decorative interior niches for the building’s registers.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Saul Steinberg

Title

Downtown Building

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.

1952

Medium

Collage of cut-and-pasted commercially printed papers, and pen and black ink, over graphite with erasing, ruled in graphite, on ivory wove paper

Dimensions

37 × 58.5 cm (14 5/8 × 23 1/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of The Saul Steinberg Foundation

Reference Number

2013.1516

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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