Photograph of Steinberg Drawing Projected onto Hedda Sterne with Hands in Lap

This photograph is one of a series in which a Saul Steinberg drawing of a woman was projected onto Hedda Sterne. Here, the projection aligns so closely with Sterne’s own features that it becomes a mask of sorts. This anticipates the paper-bag masks that Steinberg would begin making several years later. Between 1959 and 1962, he animated many simple paper bags with faces drawn in crayon, ink, or pencil, which he and his friends then donned for masked portraits taken by photographer Inge Morath. The Eameses shared Steinbergs' interest in masks. They began collecting masks from around the world in the 1940s and in 1950 they designed a range of oversized animal masks for children and adults, which subsequently made appearances as props and decorations in photo shoots, exhibitions, and staged rooms.