Image: Melinda, Jeanne, Lily, and Maggie Steig

Norman Rockwell Museum is saddened to share news from the Steig family, that Jeanne Steig has died, peacefully, in her sleep, during the early morning hours of July 26, 2022, at the age of 92. Author, artist, and donor, Jeanne Steig was a dear friend to the Museum; and leaves a legacy of art to be enjoyed by future generations thanks to her incredible contribution of a collection of over 6,000 original artworks works by her husband, the legendary illustrator, author, and cartoonist William Steig.

The William Steig Collection of 6,251 works of art includes a rich array of book illustrations, New Yorker cartoons and covers, and personal drawings. In 2010, NRM debuted an exhibition titled William Steig: Love and Laughter showcasing the newly acquired collection and an exciting selection of Jeanne’s own three-dimensional sculptures and assemblages, revealing the fruits of their creative co-habitation and themes in both artists’ work which spoke to their shared joy of life.

NRM Director/CEO Laurie Norton Moffatt shared “Jeanne was a fierce, fun, creative spirit, it was a privilege to work with her. Together with my colleague Stephanie Haboush Plunkett, Chief Curator, we had a most memorable visit to her Boston apartment, seeking her participation to present an exhibition of William Steig’s work. Simultaneously, we were struck by her own creations, artworks from “street trash, they were utterly fanciful and beautiful.“

A native of Chicago, Jeanne Steig was the author of several books of light verse and two books of prose, including Consider the Lemming, a Parent’s Choice Remarkable Book; The Old Testament Made Easy; Alpha Beta Chowder; A Handful of Beans, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated

Image: Melinda, Jeanne, Lily, and Maggie Steig

Book; and A Gift from Zeus: Sixteen Favorite Myths, a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of the Year. All were illustrated by William Steig, with the exception of Tales from Gizzard’s Grill, illustrated by Sandy Turner, and Fleas!, illustrated by Britt Spenser. Jeanne Steig’s last book, Cats, Dogs, Men, Women, Ninnies & Clowns: The Lost Art of William Steig was published in 2012.

Jeanne Steig was a self-taught visual artist, working almost exclusively with street finds and other publicly discarded materials. Her vibrant dimensional artworks have been exhibited widely over the past 35 years.

“The Museum’s Steig Collection, made possible by Jeanne’s generosity, reflects the breadth of the artist’s imagery―from his 1930s Small Fry series recalling the colorful Bronx neighborhood of his youth, New Yorker covers and cartoons, and symbolic drawings offering commentary on the human condition, to beloved picture books like Alpha Beta Chowder, written by his wife and fellow artist, Jeanne Steig. Love, laughter, and everyday life, recurring subjects of the artist’s wry fascination, emerge in intuitive drawings in which friends are giving and couples are loving, “just not every single minute,” said Deputy Director/Chief Curator Stephanie Haboush Plunkett, who organized their joint exhibition. The William Steig exhibition remains available for travel and presentation at other museums, and selections from the collection continue to be included in NRM’s exhibitions, and obtainable on loan to other institutions. The full array of Steig works have been digitized and are accessible online through NRM’s Digital archives here…

Read more about the exhibition and Jeanne Steig’s donation of art here…