November, Long Shadows 1985

Saul Steinberg made this drawing with colored pencils and graphite, giving it a muted but vibrant quality. I imagine Steinberg out on a cold day, observing a landscape filled with leafless trees casting long shadows. The lines create a sense of depth and movement, like the ground is shifting under our feet. There’s this face emerging from the landscape, like a land-art sculpture, adding a layer of surreal playfulness to the scene. The shadows are almost like an invitation, beckoning us into the woods and into our own imagination. The lone cyclist adds to this sense of journeying through the landscape of the mind, like the work of other artists such as Giorgio de Chirico. Thinking about Steinberg's wider body of work, this piece feels like one panel from a graphic novel, which could also be a work of existential philosophy. There’s a lightness of touch, but also a profound sense of curiosity and questioning about the world around us. Like all good artists, Steinberg reminds us that creativity is an ongoing dialogue.