by Deirdre Bair
“the very goods English”: ST to H & H Danson, November 17, 1941, copy in SSF.
“like a x‑ray picture”: ST to H & H Danson, October 12 and November 17, 1941, copy in SSF.
No matter how sick, tired, or depressed: ST to R & M Steinberg, July 16, 1941, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.
The only unvarnished truth: ST to R & M Steinberg, October 20, 1941, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.
After the United States entered the war: Harry Steinberg to R & M Steinberg, January 7, 1942, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.
Aldo did reply: AB to ST, “22 Aug.,” YCAL, Box 12, “Wartime Letters from Ada”; also AB to ST, July 22, 1941, YCAL, Box 12.
“He makes it clear”: ST, “Journal, 1940–42,” October 1, 1941.
“She writes bullshit”: ST, “Journal, 1940–42,” October 16, 1941. The word is either puttanate (bullshit) or puttana (whore). Whichever, ST is angry with Ada.
“feel rancor toward Aldo”: Ada to ST, n.d., YCAL, Box 12, “Wartime Letters from Ada.”
Ada tried to explain: The account that follows is based on internal evidence from undated “Wartime Letters from Ada,” YCAL, Box 12.
Aldo did not like Ada: When I asked him about this in June 2007, he became angry and said that he was “finished” talking about Ada because “she is not very interesting and she bores me.”
several days later when Ada sent a photo: ST, “Journal, 1940–42,” October 17, 1941.
From then on, her letters referred casually to her husband: Ada to ST, “Wartime Letters from Ada,” YCAL, Box 12.
On any particular “today”: ST, “Journal, 1940–42,” various entries from October 20, 1941, through February 11, 1942.
“Dear Adina, poor little thing”: Ada to ST, Milano, October 30, 1941, “Wartime Letters from Ada,” YCAL, Box 12; ST, “Journal, 1940–42,” various entries, October 17–20, 1941.
“in great fear”: ST, “Journal, 1940–42,” November 21, 1941.
he moved again: Estrelleta 42 (Altos), to H. & H. Danson, December 19, 1941; Gavino Puello 9, to H. & H. Danson, April 22, 1942.
a book jacket for Simon & Schuster: ST, undated letter to H. & H. Danson, probably November–December 1941. In “Journal, 1940–42,” December 7, 1942, he wrote that he sent ten drawings to Simon & Schuster on December 6.
the Valentine’s Day spread: “Don’t Ever Marry These Guys,” Mademoiselle, February 1942.
“silence from New York”: ST, “Journal, 1940–42,” January 18, 1942.
“I continue confusedly”: ST, undated letter to H. & H. Danson; also “Journal, 1940–42,” December 7, 1941.
He was pleased with his success: ST to H. & H. Danson, January 15 and March 16, 1942; Danson, “An Heroic Decision,” p. 64; ST, “Journal, 1940–42,” January 15, 1942. L. Danson posits that the painting reproduced on the cover of the issue of Ontario Review in which his article appears may be one of the three. It is reproduced in S:I, cat. 3, and cat. 4 is another painting done in Santo Domingo. In “Journal, 1940–42,” November 24, 1941, ST describes a “neoclassical tempera. Framed picture came out well.”
“Is a pity”: ST to H. & H. Danson, January 19, 1942, and March 16, 1942.
“other, Communist” Steinberg: ST to H. & H. Danson, n.d.; internal evidence suggests early 1942.
“is better don’t mention”: ST, undated letter to H. & H. Danson; internal evidence suggests October 1941. Letter to Harry Steinberg, October 12, 1941. In a letter to AB, April 19, 1985, while reading a novel by Gadda, who wrote in the Milanese dialect, ST disparaged his “ancient association with Bertoldo, and other nonsense of that era.”
Civita also furnished a statement of ST’s earnings: Ik Schuman, TNY administrative editor, sent a memo to editor Harold Ross and art editor James Geraghty saying they should all “avoid seeming to say we guarantee ST work as this would be a violation of law prohibiting labor contracts with prospective immigrants; we should say that we feel his talents would enable him to get work.” November, 21, 1941, TNYR, Box 366. Letters from these publications to various officials and addresses at the U.S. State Department begin with the date of February 3, 1942, and are in YCAL, Box 1, Folder “Correspondence 1942.”
directed his letter to a high-level contact: Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr., to Mr. A. M. Warren, March 25, 1942, copy in YCAL, Box 1, Folder “Correspondence 1942.”
“I have seen his work on the editorial pages”: Smith, Steinberg at The New Yorker, p. 16, notes that “cartooning under watchful Fascist eyes had taught Steinberg to poke fun at war in general rather than condemn its opponents; in fact, the first set of drawings he published in America [Harper’s Bazaar, March 15, 1940] had satirized, of all things, French defense efforts.”
“very much to our interest”: Geraghty, 1941 memo, reproduced in Yagoda, About Town, p. 178.
Even better was the agreement Civita arranged: Ik Schuman contract letter form to Cesar Civita, as “attorney or agent” for ST, May 15, 1942; Cesar Civita to Ik Schuman, July 1, 1942, spelling out details of an agreement “valid for two years from July 1, 1942,” making “Victor Civita (brother) and Charles Civita (father)” ST’s lawful attorneys. They were to receive a 40 percent commission on anything sold, with the remaining 60 percent to go to ST. Both documents are in YCAL, Box 1, Folder “Correspondence 1942.”
His application had been approved: In 1978, when his work was featured on the cover of Time, ST received a letter from Paul Radin saying that what may have been the best gesture he ever made was to “sign a paper sponsoring your entry into the US.” ST never forgot Radin’s gesture: in 1953 he sent one of his false diplomas and in 1979 a signed copy of his latest book. Radin’s letter is dated April 14, 1978, YCAL, Box 22.
He had his visa in hand: ST to H & H Danson, May 16 and May 26, 1942; Gertrude Einstein to ST, June 1, 1942.
admitted that it was “stupid”: ST to Harold Danson, May 26, 1942.
“There is not the slightest danger”: Gertrude Einstein to ST, May 25, 1942, YCAL, Box 1.
“I’m wasting my time here”: ST to Harold Danson, June 17, 1942.
“Traveling by bus, if you manage”: R & S, pp. 53, 55.
And that was how he got his first view: R & S, p. 55.
CHAPTER EIGHT: IN A STATE OF UTTER DELIGHT
“Who the hell knows”: ST to HS, January 18, 1944, AAA.
He trained his European eye: R & S, pp. 56–57.
“in a state of utter delight”: HS, interview, April 18, 2007.
The “Cubist elements” that became his lifelong totems: Some of these are referred to in Jacques Dupin’s essay, Derrière le Miroir, no. 192, June 1971.
“a flying Indian”: In R & S, p. 57, ST confuses the Pontiac with the DeSoto, which had a stylized head of the explorer Hernando DeSoto as its hood ornament.
“the sort of red”: Diary 1991, n.d. but following May 30, YCAL, Box 75. Internal evidence suggests that some of the undated pages may have been written at a later time and inserted; very few (if any) seem to be a continuation of the dated page.
In later years, he regretted: ST to AB, December 15, 1984. The rest of the sentence said that photographers “like Walker Evans were already making the rounds.”
America was “disarming”: These observations about what he thought of American architecture and culture were made in notes at the end of a 1953 calendar/diary, YCAL, Box 3.
“Speaking primitive English”: Diary, n.d. but following entry for June 4, 1991, YCAL, Box 75.
“Who the hell knows”: ST to HS, January 18, 1944, AAA.
the first street he knew in the United States: He gave his address as 412 6th Avenue on his application for a commission in the navy, BNP953, Revised 1942, YCAL, Box 20.
“Sixth Avenue was very luminous”: Diary, n.d., entry following Friday, May 31, 1991, YCAL, Box 75.
Tino was filled with a zest for life: ST to HS, May 25, 1944, AAA.
“everybody brought something”: Ruth Nivola, interview, September 22, 2007.
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��no curiosity about the USA”: HS, interview, March 29, 2007; Ruth Nivola, interview, September 22, 2007.
“true friendship”: ST to AB, January 26, 1946.
“one beautiful room with big windows”: Ruth Nivola, interview, September 22, 2007. In a prior interview on July 24, 2007, she expressed regret at having to leave the mural on the wall, but she still had the initial sketch for it, made by ST on the back of another painting.
It was signed by Ik Schuman: Contract letter from Ik Schuman to Cesar Civita, “attorney or agent” for ST, May 15, 1942, YCAL, Box 1.
It gave them power of attorney: Contractual letter from ST to Cesar Civita, July 1, 1942, YCAL, Box 1. This document continued an earlier agreement, “Statement Account Steinberg up to March 1, 1942,” also in YCAL, Box 1, Folder “1942 Correspondence.” ST to H & H Danson, May 16, 1942: “Maybe you know the good news that Miss Einstein is negotiating an agreement with the New Yorker. That would be wonderful.”
More work soon followed: George H. Lyon, OWI, to ST via Cesar Civita, July 11, 1942, YCAL, Box 1, “Correspondence 1942.”
By November he was a consultant: ST from OWI Overseas Operations Bureau, Overseas Publications Graphic Arts Division, Art Section, NY; YCAL, Box 1, “Correspondence 1942.”
He also responded: “To Our Artists” from the New Yorker editors, July 2, 1942, YCAL, Box 1, “Correspondence 1942.”
Several weeks later a second memo arrived: “To Our Artists” from the New Yorker editors, August 4, 1942, YCAL, Box 1, “Correspondence 1942.”
he wanted to see the Pacific Ocean: HS, interview, March 29, 2007: “He was a natural-born traveler. When he came to the U.S. from Santo Domingo he was totally broke … but the kind of man he was, he got on a bus.”
He took advances: HS, interview, May 8, 2007.
here he was helped by Harold Ross: Ross and Cook letters are January 7, 1942; Ross to McGuiness is January 6, 1942, as are general delivery to ST; YCAL, Box 1.
Steinberg took the southern route: Information that follows is from diary, undated entry following June 4, 1991, YCAL, Box 75.
From his earliest days: HS, interview, May 8, 2007.
“the back side of cities”: R & S, pp. 52–53.
“character … with a lot of influence”: Dupin, interview, Derrière le Miroir.
“Damn!”: ST, January 1, 1943, YCAL, Box 20, Folder “Tortoreto, 1940–42.”
“invited him to lunch”: Throughout 2007 I conducted interviews and had many conversations with Hedda Sterne. As stated earlier, she allowed me to read her restricted letters from ST in the Archives of American Art, and she showed me many other documents, letters, paintings, and drawings in her house on 71st Street in New York. HS made four recordings to answer questions asked by Claire Nivola in 2005, on May 21, June 4 (two tapes), and September 26, which Claire Nivola generously made available to me. These sources provide much of the account that follows.
“all energetic [over]achievers”: Joseph M. Stafford, e‑mail to DB, August 1, 2008. I am grateful to Mr. Stafford, a nephew of Fred Stern, who (along with HS) provided much of the information about his uncle that follows.
“learned how to deal”: Joan Simon, “Hedda Sterne: Patterns of Thought,” Art in America, February 2007, p. 161; hereafter Joan Simon interview.
As one example among many: Quotations are from Stacy Schiff, Saint-Exupéry: A Biography (New York: Holt, 2006), p. 370. Also personal communication with Stacy Schiff, May 17, 2009; HS interviews with DB, 2007; Joan Simon interview.
“You explained to me by phone”: ST to HS, January 18. 1944, AAA.
“a big house, a happy home”: HS, interview by Phyllis Tuchman, December 17, 1981, p. 11, AAA; hereafter Tuchman interview.
She enrolled in the University of Bucharest: HS told Tuchman that she completed two years, and Sarah Eckhardt, p. 117, only one. In interviews and conversations with DB, she said she “attended but did not graduate.”
“to this day, it was”: Tuchman interview, p. 10; HS on Claire Nivola tapes, May 21, 2005.
“advocating a synthesis”: Sarah Eckhardt, Uninterupted Flux: Hedda Sterne, A Retrospective (Urbana-Champaign: Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois, 2006), p. 117 and p. 3, fig. 3; Victor Brauner: Surrealist Hieroglyphs, catalogue for the exhibition, October, 2001–January, 2002, Menil Collection, Houston (Ostfilden: Hatje Cantz, 2001), p. 151, fig. 87.
“world of the comic press”: HS, interview with DB, April 18, 2007; HS on Claire Nivola tapes, May 21 and June 4, 2005.
When she was seventeen: After she married ST, he and HS became friendly with Léger, but during her time in Paris, Léger never came to the studio and she never saw or met him.
“it was the place of strangers”: Joan Simon interview; HS on Claire Nivola tapes, May 21 and June 4, 2005.
“I was like a real good little Jewish girl”: Tuchman interview, p. 13.
“super-primitive”: Tuchman interview, p. 18; HS interviews with DB; HS on Claire Nivola tapes, May 21, June 4, and September 21, 2005.
“as a girl, a woman”: ST to HS, January 18, 1944, AAA.
“the products of refusals”: HS, interview, March 29, 2007.
CHAPTER NINE: GOING OFF TO THE OSS
“This applicant has about everthing disqualifying”: VCNO is an abbreviation for Vice Chief of Naval Operations. Documents quoted are from Bureau of Naval Personnel, New York Office of Naval Officer Procurement, “Report of Investigation, Form N Nav 544, Restricted: Saul Steinberg, applicant for appointment in USNR, January 26 & 28, 1943.” Documents are in the National Archives, Washington, D.C., with copies in SSF.
he spoke Romanian and Italian fluently: Despite the several years he studied German, he never admitted that he spoke it, and in his “Officer’s Qualification Report, May 25, 1945,” he did not list it. YCAL, Box 20.
Efforts were under way: Memorandum for the Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel from Captain A. P. Lawton, USN, February 20, 1943. Subject: Exemption from Indoctrinal Training Course: “exempted … because he possesses specialized skill or knowledge and his services are desired for assignment in a specialized billet where the time for such training would hamper and restrict the war effort.” National Archives and SSF.
He found all this activity slightly puzzling: Notices of Alien’s Acceptability from Local Board No. 17, 412 6th Avenue, NY. The 4F classification was dated August 24, 1942; the 1A was dated January 21, 1943.
“going off to the OSS”: HS, interview, March 29, 2007.
“completion of naturalization be waived”: W. R. Purnell, “Memorandum for CNO,” FF1/P14/00, January 20, 1943, National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), St. Louis, copy at SSF.
no mention of any mental disorder: Report of Physical Examination (First Examination), January 21, 1943; Report of Physical Examination and Induction (2nd Examination), February 16, 1943. Both refer to the reports of his Selective Service Examination, August 21, 1942, and his classification as 1A on August 24, 1942, NRPC, copy at SSF.
“the special circumstances”: From Director of Naval Officer Procurement New York to CNO, Washington, re: ST, applicant for appointment in USNR, January 26, 1943; NPRC, copy in YCAL, Box 20, and SSF.
The rush was on: His commission in the Naval Reserve was officially dated February 20, 1943, and a certificate stated that he was sworn in on February 25. However, these documents were prepared after the fact and the true date was February 19; YCAL, Box 20, Folder “Navy” (1 of 2).
received orders to report for duty: Memorandum for the Passport Division, Department of State, BuPers 2324-ELI, signed by Randall Jacobs for CNO RAdm. Ernest J. King, March 9, 1943; NPRC, copy at SSF.
“God knows how your knowledge”: James Geraghty to ST, August 18, 1943, YCAL, Box 1.
He was in a frenzy: A copy of his life insurance policy from the Travelers Insurance Company, Hartford, Connecticut, June 29, 1942, and a letter to Harry Steinberg, April 4, 1943, are both YCAL, Box 1.
the navy was not sending him to China immediately: BuNavPers t
o ST, “order to report to CNO, DC, for temporary active duty, under instruction,” February 23, 1943; YCAL, Box 20, Folder “US Navy.”
The first time he felt ready: HS, interview, April 18, 2007.
Margaret C. Scoggin: Her publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, sent payment checks to Civita on behalf of “Lt. Paul Steinberg,” a mistake the navy also occasionally made. A canceled check for $300 is in YCAL, Box 1, along with ST’s tax return for 1943. His income was $1,909.62 and he paid $355.27 in taxes. The following year, while he was on active duty, the navy paid him $576.35 and he earned $5,446.50 from his art, for a total of $7,019.66. He paid $660.74 in taxes.
an easily recognizable Hermann Göring: TNY, March 6, 1943; reproduced in Smith, Steinberg at The New Yorker, p. 18, fig. 8.
Hedda took to them at once: HS, interview, April 18, 2007. HS became the godmother of Claire Nivola, the Nivolas’ second child.
the reviews for “Drawings in Color”: Among them, New York Herald Tribune, April 18, 1943, and Time, April 26, 1943.
“Each week”: HS, interview, May 8, 2007.
Through her they formed: I have repeated here the list of artists compiled by Sarah Eckhardt in Uninterupted Flux, pp. 119–20, with the exception of Jackson Pollock, whom they met through Peggy Guggenheim. I have also added the names of others whom Eckhardt did not name.
“Bill and Elaine lived at night”: HS, interview, April 18, 2007.
“never at the Cedar Tavern”: HS, interview, March 29, 2007.
She had known Peggy Guggenheim: Eckhardt, Uninterupted Flux, p. 118, writes that Arp encouraged Victor Brauner to send them to Peggy Guggenheim at Guggenheim Jeune in London, and that “one of these may have been included in Exhibition of Collages, Papiers-Collés and Photo-Montages at the show, Nov. 4–26, 1938.” HS, interview, March 29, 2007, insisted that Peggy Guggenheim had shown her work at Guggenheim Jeune.