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The Museum Ludwig in Cologne is exhibiting the complete collage-tableaux "The Americans" by U.S. illustrator and cartoonist Saul Steinberg (1914-1999) for the first time since he created it in 1958 for the Brussels World´s Fair. For the U.S. pavilion at Expo 1958 in Brussels -the first world´s fair to be mounted after World War II- he created a largescale mural collage consisting of eight panels with a total length of over seventy meters. They present a critical panorama of everyday life in America, ranging from the hustle and bustle of the big city to the apparently idyllic world of rural communities. The exhibition is on view until June 23rd, 2013. All images courtesy of Museum Ludwig, Köln.

Saul Steinberg during the set-up of the exhibition at the American Pavilion of Expo 58, Brussels 1958 © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst 2013 /KMSKB-MRBAB.

Untitled [Four Cats], 1950 Gelatin silver print 25,4 x 22,9 cm The Saul Steinberg Foundation, New York © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst 2013.

Untitled. (from the Mask Series with Saul Steinberg), 1961. Photo: Inge Morath © The Inge Morath Foundation/MAGNUM PHOTOS. Mask: Saul Steinberg © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst 2013. His view of the American way of life, though affectionately humorous, does not exclude its darker aspects.

The Americans. California, Florida and Texas (detail 2), 1958.

Untitled [Florida], 1954, Ink, crayon, and watercolor on paper, 36,8 x 57,8 cm. The Saul Steinberg Foundation, New York © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst 2013.

The Americans. Downtown – Big City, 1958. Romanian-born Steinberg studied architecture in Milan before emigrating in the early 1940s to America. He settled in New York and achieved eminence chiefly as a result of the covers he designed for The New Yorker.

The Americans. Main Street – Small Town, 1958. Collage of wrapping paper, wallpaper, cut out or wrapped out illustrated newspaper pages, adhesive tape, wax crayon, pastel, oil on printed photo-paper, glued on cardboard and attached on double-thick Triplex-plate 6 panels each 300 x 90 cm, 1 panel 300 x 65,5 cm. Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Bruxelles © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst 2013.

The Americans. Drugstore – Small Town, 1958. Collage of cut out or wrapped out wrapping paper and wallpaper, wax crayon, pastel, oil on double-thick painted Triplex-plate 8 panels each 300 x 90 cm, 1 panel 300 x 83 cm. Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Bruxelles © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst 2013.

The Americans. Farmers – Middle West, 1958. Collage of cut out or wrapped out wrapping paper and wallpaper, wax crayon, pastel, India ink, oil on printed photo-paper, glued on cardboard and attached on doublethick Triplex-plate 6 panels each 300 x 90 cm, 1 panel 300 x 64 cm. Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Bruxelles © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst 2013.

The Americans. Baseball, 1958. Collage of cut out or wrapped out wrapping paper, wax crayon, pastel, India ink on printed photo-paper, glued on cardboard and attached on double-thick Triplex-plate / panels each 300 x 90 cm, 1 panel 300 x 64 cm. Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Bruxelles © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst 2013.

The Americans. Cocktail Party, 1958 Collage of cut out or wrapped out wrapping paper, wax crayon, pastel, India ink, oil on printed photo-paper, glued on cardboard and attached on double-thick Triplex-plate 6 panels each 300 x 90 cm, 1 panel 300 x 64 cm Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Bruxelles © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst 2013.

Untitled, 1949-54, Ink, graphite, and watercolor on paper, One part of a six-part work, each 36,8 x 58,4 cm. The Saul Steinberg Foundation, New York © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst 2013.

Untitled [Drawing Table], 1950 Ink, colored pencil, graphite, and collage on paper, 36,8 x 59,7 cm, The Saul Steinberg Foundation, New York © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst 2013.

Untitled [Mother and Children], 1950 Gelatin silver print 25,4 x 20,3 cm. The Saul Steinberg Foundation, New York © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst 2013.

American Pavilion at Expo 1958, Brussels, Unknown photographer, Private archive.

Untitled [Baseball Stadium], 1954, Ink, watercolor, crayon, and colored pencil on paper, 57,8 x 73,5 cm The Saul Steinberg Foundation, New York © The Saul Steinberg Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst 2013.