Book Review: William Steiger: Transport

Paintings of less is more

A fascinating and worthwhile monograph of Steiger's paintings in a handsomely produced book. I think his work is rather an acquired taste because of his sparse graphic style and subject matter. The hundred paintings here are related to transport though I did wonder about the inclusion of grain elevators and water towers, not too much motion in these after all.

Christopher Gaillard in his front of book essay discusses the various images that influence Steiger's work and mentions the covers of Fortune magazine during the thirties and forties. One by John O'Hara Cosgrave (from May 1939) is on page thirty-two showing part of railroad wagon which probably had some influence Steiger's series of freight train paintings. Not shown in the book but another Fortune cover by Cosgrave (April 1938) showing a bird's-eye view of a meandering river and some fields stretching to the horizon and very similar to Steiger's wonderful river bend series, fourteen are in the book.

The nine series of paintings in the book include: Bridge; Flight; Water tower; River bend; Signal; Train, Elevator; Tramway; Ride. Tramway is perhaps misleading as it refers to cable cars (one is embossed on the book's front cover) rather than trams. Flight has twenty-three paintings of very early flying machines and airships (and a couple of oddities: crashed bi-planes called Accident #1 and #2). I thought the weakest series was devoted to amusement rides, the seventeen paintings are really a collection of girders which don't have the option of being reduced to flat graphic shapes which I think make Steiger's paintings so interesting.

The book's production is excellent, a French fold jacket, embossed cover and images printed with 250 screen on a matt art paper. The back pages have Chronology, Exhibition listing and Bibliography.

William Steiger: Transport is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN)

Title spread

Left: an interesting Charles Sheeler painting from 1939.

Left: a signal operating manual, right, from Steiger's collection of reference material.

Accident # 1 and 2.

Four of the river bend series.

A John O'Hara Cosgrave graphic style that probably influenced Steiger's river bend series.

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