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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Edward Sorel and Bruce McCall at "Covering The New Yorker"

"Covering The New Yorker," the exhibition now hanging at L'Alliance New York, spans some three decades of original New Yorker cover art. Edward Sorel and Bruce McCall are represented by two covers each. All works in the show are loaned by the artists or their estates unless other wise noted.

Crush Hour
Edward Sorel
The New Yorker, January 31, 1994

Sorel's I ♥ Babel, from the issue of October 2, 1995, includes a depiction of the Alliance Française at the lower left. Now renamed L'Alliance New York, it is the institution hosting this show.

I ♥ Babel

Edward Sorel

The New Yorker, October 2, 1995

Bruce McCall's 2014 cover turns the tables on the horse carriages of Central Park.

The Cart Before the Horses
Bruce McCall
The New Yorker, April 28, 2014

McCall's Lost Times Square appears in the show courtesy of David Remnick and Esther Fein.

Lost Times Square
Bruce McCall
The New Yorker, May 31, 1999

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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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