Robert Steinem Original Oil on Canvas "Balancing Act" painted in 2004. Signed lower left and then signed, titled and dated by the artist en verso. The painting measures 20"x30". Weight is 2 pds. Rarely does this artist appear at auction. Robert Steinem's artwork has been a process of discovery. Drawing since early childhood, he began painting as a teenager. His work then was influenced by the surrealists, particularly de Chirico and Magritte. However, after a service connected injury in the Marines, Steinem quit painting for twenty years, yet the thought of painting kept nagging at him. Finally, instead of being limited by his legal blindness, he found a way to work through those limitations. An ophthalmologist friend designed special glasses, and Steinem reconstructed his easel so it was strong enough to stand on. His detail work requires an almost "nose to canvas" approach. Steinem's paintings tend to be eclectic, yet he paints mainly in three distinct subject styles- Architectural, Snow Scenes, and a collection of nature and water images called Reflected Light. After a successful show several years ago in Washington, D.C., his work has entered many private and public collections. Three of Steinem's National Cathedral paintings were selected by the Cathedral's Museum Store to be sold as limited edition prints. One of his snow paintings was selected by the Christopher Reeve Foundation for their 2005 calendar, with a print run of 3 million. Steinem has had a number of solo and group shows and his work is represented by numerous galleries throughout the US. Recently one of his canal reflection paintings was juried into a group show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He continues to produce work that is refreshingly new and captivating, with the unerring ability to evoke the mood of a scene, whether the subject is an urban landscape, or the vibrant transparency of an isolated country pond. His home and studio are in rural Massachusetts at the foothills of the Green Mountains, where he lives with his wife Kathy, a college dance instructor who was a principal dancer with the Rhode Island Ballet. He also spends part of each year in Washington, D.C., and in coastal South Carolina.

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