Suburb

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Artist Saul Steinberg (American, 1914–1999)

Title Suburb (Banlieue)

Date 1949

Medium Black ink on paper

Dimensions Image: 19 9/16 x 13 9/16 in. (49.7 x 34.4 cm)
Sheet: 19 9/16 x 13 9/16 in. (49.7 x 34.4 cm)
Framed (Exhibition Frame): 29 1/8 x 23 1/8 x 1 in. (74 x 58.7 x 2.5 cm)

Credit Line Gift of The Saul Steinberg Foundation, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 2019.64

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About this Work

This piece was created during one of Steinberg’s many visits to France. It depicts a suburb—banlieue in French—the residential area outside a metropolitan center, where many who worked in large cities would reside. Steinberg’s depiction shows an empty street with little personality. His choice to focus on a nearly empty corner café induces suburban feelings of anonymity and stillness. The bicyclist in the foreground is a gendarme making his rounds through the streets.

Provenance
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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Suburb | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=2019.64