Jean-Michel Folon at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

Jean-Michel Folon shows us his keen sense of direction on the cover of the December 3, 1966, New Yorker. The original art is being exhibited at the Society of Illustrators, part of "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration." The show is curated by Liza Donnelly. People who would like to see original New Yorker art of this outstanding quality should head over to the show by March 12, after which it will be downsized.

Jean-Michel Folon
Original art
The New Yorker, December 3, 1966

Jean-Michel Folon
The New Yorker, December 3, 1966

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Saul Steinberg and Sarula Bao at "Covering The New Yorker"

There is one example of Saul Steinberg's New Yorker cover art in the exhibition "Covering The New Yorker" at L'Alliance New York. Unusually, it made the journey directly from sketchbook page to New Yorker cover.

The Man in the Mirror
Saul Steinberg
Original art
The New Yorker, January 12, 1998

The Man in the Mirror
Saul Steinberg
The New Yorker, January 12, 1998

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1998-01-12/flipbook/CV1/

Sarula Bao's 2024 cover Lunar New Year celebrates the Year of the Dragon. The cover art is reproduced in a limited edition signed print, of which this is no. 31/50.

Lunar New Year
Sarula Bao
Signed Print, no. 31/50
The New Yorker, February 5, 2024

Lunar New Year
Sarula Bao
The New Yorker, February 5, 2024

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/2024-02-05/flipbook/CV1/

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Saul Steinberg at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

Saul Steinberg's New Yorker cover of January 17, 1959, is one that needs to be not only seen but read. The central figure on the impossibly grandiose monument depicted is Prosperity unfettered, while the surrounding paired figures reveal so very much about the contradictions inherent in America that Steinberg observed through his immigrant's eyes. The striking original art is currently on view at the Society of Illustrators, part of the essential show "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration" curated by Liza Donnelly.

Saul Steinberg
Original art
The New Yorker, January 17, 1959

Saul Steinberg
The New Yorker, January 17, 1959

https://www.ebay.com/itm/315976742221....

Meanwhile, the breadth of Steinberg's wildly inventive drawings inside the magazine is represented by a single image from 1963.

Saul Steinberg
Print
The New Yorker, February 23, 1963, p. 24

 

Saul Steinberg
The New Yorker, February 23, 1963, p. 24

With drawings by Saul Steinberg and Robert Day

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1963-02-23/flipbook/024/

* * *

It's not a part of the exhibition, of course, but on the printed page Steinberg's linear flight of artistic fancy is set opposite a wash drawing by Robert Day seeking humor in the not-so-humdrum daily business commute.

"A stockholder, maybe."
Robert Day
The New Yorker, February 23, 1963, p. 24

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Howard Moss's Copy of Snow Lessons by Ivar Ivask

Poet, playwright, and critic Howard Moss was The New Yorker's poetry editor from 1948 until his death in 1987, an impressive run. Very likely he accumulated a fine library. To wit, a copy of Snow Lessons (1986) by the Latvian-born poet and critic Ivar Ivask is signed and inscribed to Moss by the author. The volume is currently available on AbeBooks from Between the Covers Rare Books for $45 plus shipping. Ivask himself was the editor of the prestigious quarterly World Literature Today, formerly Books Abroad.

Ivar Ivask
AbeBooks listing accessed February 15, 2025

https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/Snow-Lessons-IVASK-Ivar-Poetry-Around/32131938102/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=readmore_low

Ivar Ivask
AbeBooks item description

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #933

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #933 from the centennial issue of February 17 & 24, 2025, an artist in Central Park prepares to sketch a pigeon. He appears angry as he speaks. The drawing is by Avi Steinberg.

"Smile, dammit."

These captions didn't soar:

"When is one of you going to pay me?"
"Will you be the first to keep still?"
"You ALL say you'll bring me bread."
"They're ALL good likenesses."
"When do I get to spread MY wings?"
"Are you sure you have a good side?"
"Just don't crumple it up in your beak and fly away."

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Christen's Copy of Emergency Mouse by Bernard Stone and Ralph Steadman

Christen's copy of Emergency Mouse, Bernard Stone's 1978 storybook, was signed by illustrator Ralph Steadman in September of 1994. Steadman added a drawing of the mouse with the dedication line serving as the rodent's mouth.

Ralph Steadman
AbeBooks listing accessed February 15, 2025

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Emergency-Mouse-Signed-decorated-drawing-illustrator/32131585153/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=viewbook

Ralph Steadman
AbeBooks item description

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Rea Irvin: George Washington's Birthday—and a Peter Arno Cover Rough

George Washington's birthday falls on February 22, a fact that was known to most Americans before the creation of Presidents' Day. An undated and unpublished New Yorker cover by Rea Irvin was intended, no doubt, to celebrate the great general on his day. That might just be Alexander Hamilton on the left side of the image handling his correspondence. The postage stamp, of course, is a deliberate anachronism—and the joke.

Irvin's proposed cover art is on view at L'Alliance New York, part of the show called "Covering The New Yorker" curated by the current art editor Françoise Mouly. It is one of only two original works of art representing the magazine's first seventy years, neither of which was a published cover.

The other work is a preliminary drawing for what was to became the cover of December 20, 1958. The artist, Peter Arno, must have originally intended this to be a drawing inside the magazine. Reworking it into a cover necessitated some changes. He removed the awning and the background wash to accommodate the logo. He also eliminated the doorman, taking the driver out of the car and making him the central, taller figure. Placing the drawing on the cover also allowed Arno to add a striking splash of holiday color. 

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The New Yorker at One Hundred

The New Yorker's first issue was dated February 21, 1925, exactly one hundred years ago today. Rea Irvin's inaugural cover illustration must have mystified many people who saw it at the newsstand. Today, of course, we can see it for what it is: a classic. Happy birthday to The New Yorker.

Rea Irvin
The New Yorker, February 21, 1925

 

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Anatol Kovarsky at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

The cartoonist Anatol Kovarsky is represented by one drawing in the current exhibition at the Society of Illustrators on East 63rd Street. It's a good one. The show is called "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration" and it is curated by Liza Donnelly.

Anatol Kovarsky
Original art
The New Yorker, September 6, 1947, p. 36

Anatol Kovarsky
The New Yorker, September 6, 1947, p. 36

With a cartoon by Anatol Kovarsky and an ad for American Railroads

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1947-09-06/flipbook/036/

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Ilonka Karasz at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

Ilonka Karasz was making beautiful covers for The New Yorker within a few weeks of its founding, and she is making beautiful covers for The New Yorker today.

—Brendan Gill

Here at The New Yorker (1975)

Ilonka Karasz is represented by one of these "beautiful covers" in the retrospective "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration" currently on view at the Society of Illustrators. Now it's off to the races.

Ilonka Karasz
Original art
The New Yorker, June 9, 1956

Ilonka Karasz
The New Yorker, June 9, 1956

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1956-06-09/flipbook/CV1/

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Charles Addams at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

"Drawn From The New Yorker:  A Centennial Celebration" continues its run in New York City at the Society of Illustrators. Among the most popular of the many talented artists associated with The New Yorker over the past century is the splendid Charles Addams. His original cover art celebrating the new year of 1938 is set in an observatory. This is his first cover for the magazine, so it can be given for not quite looking like his later, more familiar work.

Charles Addams
Original art
The New Yorker, January 1, 1938

Charles Addams
The New Yorker, January 1, 1938

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1938-01-01/flipbook/CV1/

Addams is also represented in the exhibition with a wordless cartoon from 1949:

Charles Addams
Original art
The New Yorker, October 15, 1949, p. 27
Monster Rally, 1950, page 27
My Crowd, 1970, page 81

Speaking of good fortune, the Society of Illustrators has an original Addams from The New Yorker in its own collection. It is on display concurrently.

"Ready, dear?"
Charles Addams
Original art
The New Yorker, January 7, 1950, p. 29

"Ready, dear?"
Charles Addams
The New Yorker, January 7, 1950, p. 29

With a spot drawing of a double teapot and a cartoon by Charles Addams

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1950-01-07/flipbook/028/

Note:  The wordless 1949 Charles Addams moving day cartoon was already the subject of a post, which can be found in the blog archives here.

* * *

Of course, I'd love to hear from anyone with the uncanny ability to identify the spot artist responsible for this double cask teapot.

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Edward Koren at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

The retrospective now on view at the Society of Illustrators in honor of The New Yorker's centenary includes two original pieces by Edward Koren loaned by the artist's family. Both dating from Koren's heyday in the 1970s, there is one cartoon and one magazine cover.

"We got a complaint that his steak au poivre was dry and overcooked, his chicken vinaigrette
was prepared poorly in a sticky sweet-and-sour onion sauce that bordered on the inedible, and
his leaf-spinach-with-mushroom salad was crudely seasoned."
Edward Koren
Original art
The New Yorker, November 12, 1979, p. 182

"We got a complaint that his steak au poivre was dry and overcooked, his chicken vinaigrette
was prepared poorly in a sticky sweet-and-sour onion sauce that bordered on the inedible, and
his leaf-spinach-with-mushroom salad was crudely seasoned."

Edward Koren

The New Yorker, November 12, 1979, p. 182

Edward Koren
Original art
The New Yorker, April 11, 1977

Edward Koren
The New Yorker, April 11, 1977

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1977-04-11/flipbook/CV1/

Here's how Koren's cartoon looked in situ in the pages of the magazine:

With a cartoon by Edward Koren and an ad for Jack Daniel's

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1979-11-12/flipbook/182/

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My Entries in the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest for January/February 2025

Moment magazine's Cartoon Caption Contest for the January/February 2025 issue shows two dogs out for a walk. One dog has a Jewish star hanging from its collar and the other dog speaks. My two entries are shown below. The drawing is by dog lover Benjamin Schwartz.

“You’re lucky. Mine just says I don’t have rabies.”

"Would you ever date a German shepherd?"

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Three Old Clippings

Our good friend Joel Jacobus is perennially occupied with the pursuit of Charles Addams memorabilia but he occasionally passes along to us other cartoonist material that is less altogether ooky. Today we have three clippings about newspaper cartoonists who were popular in the 1940's. He writes:

Anyway, there are three old newspaper clippings (one of them is dated March 27, 1949 and I suspect the other two are of a similar time period) about newspaper cartoonists Cliff Berryman (Pulitzer Prize winner and creator of the teddy bear), Ding Darling (also a Pulitzer Prize winner), and Jorge Delano. I suspect that there was once a fourth clipping about Charles Addams that has since been absorbed into the collection, leaving these three clippings, unloved, in a dark and lonesome box.

Unloved? We can't have that.

Clifford K. Berryman
Star Tribune (Minneapolis), March 27, 1949, p. 32

Ding Darling
Star Tribune (Minneapolis), May 20, 1945, p. 12

Jorge Delano
The Minneapolis Star, August 4, 1945, p. 14

Note:  My thanks to Joel Jacobus, of course, for all the new old information.

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