This Week's New Yorker Cover, Rejected

A display of rejected New Yorker cover concept art is currently on view at L'Alliance New York, a part of the exhibition "Covering The New Yorker."

The assemblage of prints of rejected sketches is pinned to a bulletin board, like the card describing them:

Oddly, one of the rejected sketches shown there is this very week's cover by Till Lauer. It depicts the glow of wildfires in California. A notation is dated 1/15/25 and bears an okay as well as the name of the magazine's editor David [Remnick], likely in the hand of the art editor Françoise Mouly:

It was not published on the cover of the January 20 issue, hence its status in this show as a rejected cover. It does appear on the January 27 issue, a one week layover—surely not the worst rejection ever:

Flames and Shadows
Till Lauer
The New Yorker, January 27, 2025

The Lauer cover initially was rejected in favor of Barry Blitt's inauguration cover Two's a Crowd. Both were timely enough to have appeared that same week. Although January 20 is the date of the presidential swearing in, the issue is released one full week ahead of the publication date and The New Yorker's editors wanted the Blitt cover out a full week ahead of the event—the cover itself was even released a few days early. There are, of course, some risks inherent in anticipating real-world events. The illustration quite naturally foresaw an outdoor ceremony, which turned out not to be the case because of extreme cold. It also shows Donald Trump's hand resting on the bible. Who knew?

Two's a Crowd
Barry Blitt
The New Yorker, January 20, 2025

Curiously, Blitt's cover recalls his own twin-scenarios cover of eight years earlier. Both images show Trump at his swearing in accompanied—or superseded—by extremely powerful and wealthy men with their own agendas.

Significant Others
Barry Blitt
The New Yorker, October 31, 2016

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On the Proliferation of Fake Collectors' Stamps

Comic art and illustration specialist Murray A. Harris of California often annotated the back, or verso, of works in his collection, adding his personal stamp and signature. Here's an example of his markings on the back of a Reamer Keller drawing selected from the blog archives. It is stamped twice indicating two different Harris addresses, signed once, and date stamped, either indicating a date of publication or of acquisition:

https://attemptedbloggery.blogspot.com/2020/06/reamer-keller-no-rest-for-grownups.html

Many collectors must be familiar with Harris because of such documentary practices. It is gratifying to know something about the provenance of a drawing, particularly if it once resided in a well-regarded collection.

A work on paper from the Zipriani Auction House of Lima raises some questions in this area. It was listed this past March as "Saul Steinberg Drawing on Paper (In The Style Of)." In auction speak, that's tantamount to an admission that it is not an original drawing by Saul Steinberg, or that its authorship cannot be proved, but to my eye it is still fairly impressive. The original $1,200 asking price is a bit of a head-scratcher; too low for a true Steinberg original of this quality but too high for a mere copy.

Adding to the puzzle, the drawing has a Harris collection stamp on the verso. It is poorly inked unlike the Keller example above, and there is no corresponding Harris signature or other marking. Could this doubtful Steinberg have resided in Harris's collection? Or is the stamp itself a fake, meant to suggest provenance and thus authenticity to the knowing collector when in fact there is neither? Harris's name was in bold text on the verso of the Keller drawing; here it is clearly a different stamp with the same text.

At any rate, the lot did not find a buyer. The price was soon reduced to an opening bid of $400, and later to $100—not true Steinberg territory.

Saul Steinberg
Zipriani Auction House listing accessed March 7, 2023
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/147198975_saul-steinberg-drawing-on-paper-in-the-style-of?from=alert&utm_source=SavedAlert&utm_campaign=SearchAlert_20200423_A&utm_medium=email&utm_content=item

In the style of Saul Steinberg
Zipriani Auction House listing accessed March 7, 2023

The version of Steinberg's New Yorker drawing from the issue of February 3, 1945 is distinct from that published in his later 1945 collection All In Line. In fact, his New Yorker and his All In Line drawings differ in a great many ways (see, for example, the head at the lower left, left-facing in one and right-facing in the other), something one might readily expect from a series of freehand variations on a theme this complex.

Saul Steinberg
The New Yorker, February 3, 1945, p. 22

Saul Steinberg
All In Line, 1945

https://saulsteinbergfoundation.org/search-artwork/

The Zipriani drawing is close to the better-known All In Line version, but it is by no means identical. So the question is, would Steinberg do such a slavish redrawing of his own work, certainly not his usual practice, or is it a reasonable good copy by someone else perhaps made with a light box? Then again, could Steinberg himself be closely copying over his own work to try to get everything just right for the book version? 

In the style of Saul Steinberg

The final nail in the coffin, I believe, of the Zipriani drawing's authenticity is the company it keeps. Most every piece in the March sale was also described as "in the style of . . . "

Something fishy is apparently going on down in Peru. A comic panel by R. Crumb from HUP #3 (1989) features a noted real estate developer. The variety of hatching, cross-hatching, line quality, and lettering present a challenge to a potential copyist quite distinct from the clean lines of the Steinberg.

https://twitter.com/richard_littler/status/1290922254654672896

A drawing currently for sale on eBay is listed as "Robert Crumb Drawing on paper (Handmade) signed and stamped mixed media vtg art." It is not at all convincing as a Crumb original, particularly when compared with the published HUP panel, and the original is probably a full comic page anyway. The $115 or best offer price should be seen as a tacit acknowledgment of this. The seller, probably not coincidentally, is located in Lima.

The verso is telling as well for the presence of no fewer than five collectors' stamps! Honestly, if one stamp is good, are five better? At the bottom left is yet a third Harris stamp, not the one on the Keller or the Zipriani Auction piece. If that's not convincing enough, there's a Museum of Modern Art stamp at the lower right. Talk about your jaw-dropping provenances!

eBay listing accessed January 5, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/355226508737?hash=item52b5265dc1:g:hfcAAOSwe7hlBMuf&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0E%2B2sXpWXqbGRsZaGjsMIYdhD9JH5Rvxu5%2B%2BEiWsFYkV3ZiRNrV1lQ2dVvPBHWKMiftubvHr5jJqlq01xUR%2F2%2BZHJ8GM9ZhNa%2FndDzYv29zOhiPMIa9X

yTfT9xIf9SexyeB23wGWNUZE8tJhgTP0ruKvj0G7gM%2BJA3Qt1ejImAGIvOTUSwy%2F6HXQtMjRrn96hhZ%2FHOaRLrN2ESZqsYW1jJbQ1wJpYtOCznSIA5%2F3xTX1gdu%2Bu0IKo4UxS80REb6i73Xrhmx7FLJJq3P2ESu25kE%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMhLuBy5tj

eBay item description

Peru then may very well have a workshop churning out copies of drawings, some better than others, and decorating the versos with copies of collectors' stamps including Harris's. As always, caveat emptor.

Note:  I wish to thank cartoonist Michael Maslin and writer Steve Stoliar for helping me to decipher the Zipriani Auction piece. It's taken me the better part of a year to come to my present understanding of it.

Drawings by Saul Steinberg and Otto Soglow

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1945-02-03/flipbook/022/

"Will you be my wives?"
Otto Soglow
The New Yorker, February 3, 1945, p. 23

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Playing Ball with Barry Blitt's New Yorker Cover of May 22, 2017

Perhaps there are those of a particular political bent who, for whatever reason, wish to celebrate President Donald Trump's dismissal of FBI director James Comey on May 9, 2017. Others conceivably might admire Barry Blitt's New Yorker cover of May 22, 2017, "Ejected," which soon followed and offered a liberal take on the event. At the time, Trump, in a letter to Comey that was released publicly, cited the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as reasons for the director's firing. Blitt's magazine cover illustration also references a viral video of an incident from April of that year when a passenger was forcibly removed from a United Airlines plane. He restages the episode, interpolating the figures of Trump, Sessions, and Comey into the airline cabin.

Whoever came up with the idea of mounting this New Yorker cover in a shadow box with three baseballs signed by these three principles—the Comey and Sessions balls even have COA's—assembled a scarce set of collectibles unlikely to have significant appeal anywhere on the political spectrum. It's also hard to imagine fans of either Major League Baseball or of The New Yorker's political covers finding much to admire here. The box, very likely unique, was given an anemic presale estimate of $150 to $300, and it sold for $70.

There were no bids 13 hours before auction time.

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/156104320_the-new-yorker-publication-and-autograph-baseballs

Sold!

"Ejected"
Barry Blitt
The New Yorker, May 22, 2017

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/2017-05-22/flipbook/CV1/

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The New Yorker's "Blowhard" Issue Signed by Donald Trump

For anyone who has ever wondered whether Donald Trump would personally sign a copy of The New Yorker of August 28, 2017, the issue featuring David Plunkert's "Blowhard" cover, the answer is yes. The cover was published after a horrific episode of white nationalist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, when the president infamously commented at a press conference that "you also had people that were very fine people on both sides." The illustration depicts Trump sitting aft in a sailboat. He is blasting air in order to inflate a white sail with eye holes that visually transform it into a Klansman's hood. The American Society of Magazine Editors named Plunkert's New Yorker cover, his first, their Cover of the Year.

The autographed cover, with Trump's zigzag of a signature and retaining the subscription mailing label, even, was sold on eBay late last year. There probably aren't too many of these out there.

Donald Trump
eBay listing ended December 28, 2022

https://www.ebay.com/itm/165830142796hash=item269c3f2b4c%3Ag%3A3EsAAOSwy6ljl6Qd&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4A49MSUUZVx%2FPENggoCXtgYJpeLSbAzRqniAM2EBTsGUB2BkwyTnUXSR1vRxEsIQOvF8ag3kpSwsJR0xDojLqFnvCe91gFfITOwlraAcbyUd7iQWvDgPlJdhWI25pYsU1X3%2BGGr8Q9%2BDJjs6eFDflNtSRSUHDxb9SUSmlZV%2BNgbhKhixtgGtnTJyzL0nqOb

KY0lzf4%2FbRTVfT%2F1kcQDzidofpCmGa6m5A5%2BXQhiIA0YbgQvUqxyI6VxuoHCC9rZtHgNB4Eb4u4GPkdetSmcsWU105A7cL%2BiQSY0FbMOtRRAc%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5r7p5jiYQ&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Donald Trump
eBay item description

The unsigned, award-winning magazine cover:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cover-story/2017-08-28

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Charles Addams and Harry Bliss: Fanning the Flames

In the cover for this year’s Cartoon Issue, Harry Bliss pays homage to Charles Addams, whose macabre work routinely appeared in The New Yorker, and whose most famous creation, the Addams Family, has spurred countless adaptations.

—Françoise Mouly

"Cover Story: Harry Bliss’s 'In with the New'”

And how exactly does one pay homage to Charles Addams? The inspiration for cover artist Harry Bliss is actually a particular Addams cartoon published in The New Yorker on December 27, 1952, that year's Christmas issue.

"The little dears! They still believe in Santa Claus."
Charles Addams
The New Yorker, December 27, 1952, page 23

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1952-12-27/flipbook/022/

You might recognize some or all of the characters here, but in the years before the 1964 "Addams Family" TV series they were as yet unnamed. Addams's mastery is everywhere in evidence. The primary light source is the fireplace which indicates the main action while the secondary light source behind the sliding doors illuminates the speaker—let's call him Gomez—and two others (no names, please) who are observing the action from a distance. Addams's two-point perspective creates a formidable three dimensional architectural space incorporating many macabre elements. If one were to look at the drawing alone, the atmosphere would be striking but the actions of the children—let's call them Pugsley and Wednesday—might not have a clear purpose. The caption would then serve to totally confound one's expectations. If, on the other hand, one could somehow ignore the drawing and instead read the benign-sounding caption first, it then would be the drawing that would totally subvert the meaning of the words. Either way, it's a treat even sixty-eight years later to see all the workings of a cartoon come together so flawlessly. 

Harry Bliss's cover illustration for this week's issue of The New Yorker is meant to mark both Christmas as well as the New Year. It is also meant to comment on this unique moment in our political history and in the pandemic. It seeks to do all this with a design based on the Addams Family cartoon of December 27, 1952.

Harry Bliss
The New Yorker, December 28, 2020

So, the central satirical idea here, Donald Trump burning his old tax returns with the assistance of his servile, perspiring lawyer Rudy Giuliani, seems almost trivial in relation to the omnipresent political peril in Washington during this most irregular transition. The secondary theme, that of an elderly 2020 being replaced by an infant 2021 in a mask, and which gives this cover the title "In with the New," refers simultaneously to the New Year, to the transition, and to the pandemic. The political figures and the New Year figures don't seem to belong together in that room. Perhaps that garish hanging COVID-19 light fixture is supposed to be a unifying element here. (Compare it with the fine gothic lamp Addams furnished.) There's more, including QAnon conspirators and more rodents than you typically see on a New Yorker cover. In short, there are too many things going on here and while they are in some way interrelated, it's a lot to take in at once and, for me at least, there's no synergy.

And we've seen some of it before. This is the fourth cover published by The New Yorker this year to feature Donald Trump, the tenth to include at least one face mask, the second with a large image of the coronavirus, and the second in a row with a lit fireplace. For what it's worth, it is the first cover with QAnon.

"Greetings, Friends! [1952]" by Frank Sullivan, cartoon by Charles Addams

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1952-12-27/flipbook/022/

Note:  This Halloween, I posted Joel Jacobus's Charles Addams scrapbook, which included a clipping of the fireplace cartoon. I wonder whether Harry Bliss might have stolen a glimpse at this blog around then. Of course, there are many other places he could have come across the cartoon—in Homebodies (1954), for example—but still I do wonder whether I've had some ever-so-slight sway over the content of a New Yorker cover.

Scrapbook image

This Addams cartoon has been quite influential over the years, it seems. The blog Long Forgotten argues quite plausibly that the drawing influenced the design of the ballroom in Disney's Haunted Mansion attraction. Check it out here.

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