Saul Steinberg: A Biography Part 30

Hedda set up her studio and painted: The Concert was first performed in 1956 by the New York City Ballet, revised in 1958 for the Spoleto Festival, and revived by the NYC Ballet in 1971.

"What the h.e.l.l": E. Hawley Truax wrote to ST on March 29, 1956, YCAL, Box 7, to tell him about Kenneth Bird, an artist who drew for Punch and was then working on a book about the development of humor. Bird wrote about "pictorial puns-the confusion of one shape with another instead of one word with another. Just as one word may be identical with another but for a trifling variation in one syllable, so the outline of a flowerpot may be identical with that of a head, except that the former tends to turn out at the top instead of in. And just as a verbal pun depends on the aptness of the subst.i.tution, so does the pictorial pun, which is, of course, in essence literary rather than pictorial-and that is, probably, why it appeals to ST."

"Our March 20 cover": YCAL, Box 8, "Correspondence 1954."

A nine-year-old from Brooklyn: Jeddu Keil to ST, YCAL, Box 8, "Correspondence 1954."

Many kept his lawyer busy: Examples that follow are in YCAL, Box 8, "Correspondence 1954."

"slightly more consideration": Letter from Harvey M. Smith of Patterson Fabrics, April 27, 1954, YCAL, Box 8, "Correspondence 1954." The German firm Rasch & Co. Tapetenfabrik wanted to reproduce his designs for a ma.s.s market because "there are no wealthy people in Germany but there is a big demand for modern products." Letter to ST, December 21, 1954, YCAL, Box 7, "Correspondence 195455."

For a variety of reasons: Telegram, January 18, 1954, YCAL, Box 8, Folder 1954.

It was a shock to everyone: Arnold Saint-Subber to ST, March 11, 1954; telegram from Saint-Subber, July 8, 1954; YCAL, Box 8, "Correspondence 1954." YCAL, Box 62, contains an article from the New York Times, "Stiff Tests Start for Stage Design: Union Conducts 3-Day Exams for 72 Would-Be Members Expected to Know 26 Plays," June 5, 1954, which states that ST was a.s.signed "The Palace Scene" in King Lear, for which he was to create a "Romanesque period." It quotes him as being "glum about his luck" and saying, "Why couldn't I have gotten something Turkish, or Egyptian?"

Nor was he mollified: NSMP to ST, April 24, 1954.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer asked permission: William D. Kelley, MGM Production Department, December 6, 1954, YCAL, Box 8.

As Steinberg was striving to earn money: All of these requests are in YCAL, Boxes 7 and 8, correspondence folders from 1954 to1955.

There were also requests from individuals: Kay Halle, a colleague from ST's OSS days, n.d., YCAL, Box 8.

"He thought this country": HS, interview, 2007.

The list of people he had to see: Datebook for 1954, YCAL, Box 3.

"very sick": ST to HS, n.d. but internal evidence suggests August 2223, 1954, AAA.

For the next several days, he had to force himself: I have relied on the sources named in S:I, p. 239, notes 89, 90, 91.

"three incredible boys": ST to HS, n.d. but internal evidence suggests between August 29 and September 3, 1954, AAA.

On August 29 the partners in BBPR: ST to HS, August 29, 1954, AAA.

Most of the guests were: ST to HS, September 3, 1954, Nice, AAA.

"It was ok": ST to HS, August 29, 1954, AAA. The film was Elementary School.

He said he planned to see no one: From the generally undated letters in YCAL, envelopes postmarked in the early 1950s bear Ada's married name, Ongari, and the address Viale Misurate 61, Milano.

For the past several years: In a letter of May 9, 1952, she berates him because she spent the evening waiting for his phone call, which never came. She complains that he is not being honest with her, nor is he taking her seriously.

There had been three previous postwar encounters: Ada to ST, April 5, 1955.

She arranged for them to meet: She was living at Viale Misurata 61 and receiving letters from him at her friend's postal box in her maiden name, A. Ca.s.sola. Ada to ST, Milano, May 5, 1952, YCAL, Box 7, Folder 8.

When Ada wrote, it was usually to tell him: I cite all the correspondence between ST and HS, YCAL and AAA, and ST & Ada, YCAL, Boxes 7 and 8, dating from 1952 to 1955, and in particular Ada's letter of April 5, 1955, YCAL Box 7, Folder 8.

First she told him: Ada to ST, Roma, December 11, 1954, YCAL, Box 8.

As soon as she told him she was a teacher: Senza Rete was a variety theater show directed by Carlo Alberto Chiesa and Vito Molinari. There is evidence that it was televised on October 31, 1954, on RAI. The writers were Alberto Bonucci, Paolo Panelli, and Zuffi, all of whom knew Steinberg.

She was still angry: Lica Roman to ST, January 6, 1952, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 56.

As far as Rosa was concerned: Rosa Steinberg to ST, August 5, 1952, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 56.

Rosa was crafty enough: Rosa Steinberg to HS, November 16, 1952, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 56.

"a striped suit": ST to HS, Sunday, September 19, 1954, Connaught Hotel, London, AAA.

Everything became formulaic: Ibid.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: SOME SORT OF BREAKDOWN.

"I've been an inflated balloon": ST to HS, "Sunday: [Hotel] St. James et d'Albany," internal evidence suggests Paris, spring 1955, AAA.

There were two shows: ST, 1955 calendar/datebook, entry for November 2326, YCAL, Box 3. The San Francisco exhibition is not listed in SSF's exhibition history, and as there is no other information pertaining to it, it was most likely never realized.

He was unable to sleep: ST to HS, "Sat.u.r.day," internal evidence suggests Paris, JanuaryFebruary 1955, AAA.

His intention was to take a short trip: "He always paid his fair share and never complained about it, but he was always on the lookout for deductions because he had so many people to support. He thought the money was better used directly by them than by Uncle Sam." HS, interview, 2007.

"dangerous looking Beale Street": Information about the trip to Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia comes from a 1955 datebook/diary in YCAL, Box 3. Steinberg habitually walked out of any movie that did not hold his attention, and this one was such an unlikely film for him to watch that when he entered it into the pocket calendar he was using as a diary of the trip, he punctuated its t.i.tle with an exclamation point.

"sheer fun": HS, interview and telephone conversations, spring 2007.

She was stunned: General information is from interviews with HS, and ST to HS, letters dated from early March through the end of April 1955, AAA.

"Love is the only thing ": Schopenhauer was one of her favorite philosophers, and her letters to ST hold frequent references and allusions to his philosophy. The letter is HS to ST, YCAL, microfilm reel 14445, undated, but internal evidence places it in April 1955.

Hedda told him to go: HS to ST, April 12, 1955, AAA.

"honesty or truth": ST to HS, April 1, 1955, AAA.

She intended to send him off: HS to ST, YCAL, microfilm, n.d. but internal evidence is April 1955.

"all sorts of sea monsters": ST to HS, "Sat.u.r.day" (March 18), 1955, AAA.

"It's not a ham gesture": ST to HS, "Monday Morning" (March 20, 1955), AAA.

"It was bad": ST to HS, "March 23 wed.," AAA.

Although Steinberg had no faith in psychoa.n.a.lysis: Dream diaries are scattered throughout YCAL boxes and are cited specifically where appropriate. In this instance, they are in his HS letters, many undated (as this one is) but clearly 1955, AAA.

The setting was always: ST to HS, "Wednesday" (March 25, 1955), AAA.

"There are-I didn't know-two Tortoretos": In a 1955 datebook, he kept as a diary of the European trip, he identified the first as Tortoreto Lido and the "real" one as Tortoreto Nereto; YCAL, Box 3. In R & S, pp. 3941, he gives the wrong date, 1957, and other recollections made almost thirty years later differ from those that are more reliable, made at the time in the datebook and the HS letters.

"strange, that a place": HS to ST, "Sat.u.r.day p.m." Internal evidence suggests April 9, 1955, YCAL, microfilm.

"a sign": HS to ST, "Sunday evening 12:30," YCAL, microfilm reel 14445. In the letter she put the phrase in quotation marks.

"I'm terrorized": ST to HS, "Sat.u.r.day, April 2, 1955," AAA.

With the exception of Alberto Moravia's: The Flaiano novel deals with the Italian occupation of Ethopia, which reminded ST of something he saw on a bus trip to the nearby town of Forte de Marini: "I saw on the road a cart pulled by a donkey. Inside the cart there was a big white ox. The man was leading the little donkey, donkey pulling ox. It was funny for a moment till you realized that the ox was being taken to the abbatoir. There is some moral here somewhere. Maybe about collaborationism." ST to HS, Friday, April 1, 1955, AAA.

"unbalanced and too sensitive": ST to HS, "Viareggio, Tuesday," internal evidence suggests early April 1955, AAA.

He accidentally ran into: ST, datebook, April 5, 1955, YCAL, Box 3.

He told his diary something different: ST, datebook, April 4, 1955, YCAL, Box 3.

She begged him to believe: Ada to ST, n.d. but internal evidence suggests spring 1955, YCAL; "Milano, 1956," probably written at the end of 1955 to rea.s.sure him of her maternal feelings and send New Year's greetings for 1956.

"I feel fine": ST to HS, Friday April 1, 1955, AAA.

The image was so intense: The drawing is in his 1955 datebook between the pages for April 4 and 5, YCAL, Box 3.

"sick with fear": ST to HS, Tuesday, April 12, 1955, AAA.

When she told him she was thinking: ST to HS, "Wednesday night, April 13 [1955]," AAA.

"half in doubt": HS to ST, April 23 [1955], YCAL, microfilm.

In her customary way: HS to ST, n.d. but internal evidence suggests mid-April 1955, YCAL, microfilm reel.

"I am living in a kind of atmosphere": HS to ST, n.d. but internal evidence suggests late Marchearly April 1955, YCAL, microfilm reel.

"the ghetto group": Although Leo Lerman does not mention ST or HS in his published letters, he was a frequent visitor to their home during these years. HS writes: "Leo Lerman comes to lunch, he needs my help and advice." Sonia Orwell had become a closer friend to HS than to ST, and sent HS volumes of "early Proust" because of their mutual interest. Norman Mailer invited HS alone to parties and dinners.

If she worried about anything: She was right to worry: almost fifty years later she fell victim to macular degeneration, and this ended her painting career. References to the people she saw and parties she attended are from the YCAL microfilm letters, all undated, ranging between February and April 1955.

When he asked her to tell him: HS to ST, an undated letter attached to the previous undated one, written on the tiny sheets of pocket notebook paper that she favored for her philosophical ruminations. These are scattered throughout the YCAL boxes and are often not in coherent order.

"with each meal I cook for you": HS to ST, n.d., YCAL, microfilm reel 14445, her emphasis.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: A DEFLATING BALLOON.

"I was his long-suffering, uninterruptedly betrayed wife": HS, interview, September 9, 2007.

"certainly one of the best": ST to HS, "Wednesday night April 13 [1955]," AAA.

"How horrible the mud splashes": ST to HS, "Tuesday morning," (April 1955), AAA. His datebook for 1955, YCAL, Box 3, mentions one meeting with Hayter.

"small fry abstracts": ST to HS, "April 23, Sat. Nite" (1955), AAA.

Making the selection created: ST, diary, May 27, 1955, YCAL, Box 3. Eventually the book contained approximately 200 drawings.

While choosing them and working: ST to HS, "Thursday morning" (April 1955), AAA.

At the same time, Robert Delpire: "Labyrinthe," a prefiguration of the t.i.tle given by ST to his 1960 book, The Labyrinth.

"There may be trouble here": ST to HS, "April 20 evening" (1955), AAA.

"I don't want to be shown": ST to HS, "Tuesday Morning," (mid-April 1955), AAA.

Moritz added to Saul's confusion: Moritz Steinberg to ST, Nice, January 26, 1955, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 8.

Brooding over the conflicting claims: ST mentions dining with Giacometti on several occasions in the AAA correspondence; HS returned to this friends.h.i.+p many times throughout the 2007 interviews.

"never one of those artists' wives": HS, interview, 2007.

"What about you?": ST to HS, April 25, 1955, AAA.

Hedda was fascinated by all the existentialists: HS, telephone conversation, 2007.

Wedged into their social program: ST to HS, April 15, 1955, AAA.

"On top of that, they are in Bucharest": ST to HS, "April 20 evening" (1955), AAA.

"after I troubled the whole Palestine": ST to HS, April 27, 1955, AAA.

"envied for a moment": ST to HS, "April 15, 55," AAA.

Eventually he and Gallimard agreed: ST to HS, "Friday night" (April 1955), AAA.

"kind of anthology": ST to AB, December 27, 1955, SSF.

"NO Stonington": ST to HS, "Friday night" (April 1955), AAA.

He spent his last days in Paris: ST, diary, June 2627, 1955, YCAL, Box 3.

Most of his interaction had been: ST had extensive correspondence with Helion and Miro, to cite two examples. Their letters are currently uncatalogued and scattered throughout the YCAL boxes.

"Note: alone": ST, datebook, April 22, 1955, YCAL, Box 3.