Robert Steinem
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 Magritte and de Chirrico. 
However, after a service connected injury while 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 work requires an almost "nose to canvas" approach.
"I like to take the viewer for a ride. This is a ride that tends to transport the viewer above and below the surface of the canvas.
"Everything we see is reflection, so rendering the reflection of reflected light is like painting an echo."
Steinem has participated in a number of solo and group shows including a show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. His home and studio are in rural Massachusetts at the foot of the Green Mountains where he lives with his wife Kathy, a college dance instructor and former principal dancer with the Rhode Island Ballet.