Ronald McRae for Clio et Claire

Ronald McRae created one and only one New Yorker cover for the issue of May 15, 1926. The cover is a bit tantalizing in that it does not show us any faces. 

McRae was active in the Toronto theater scene providing stage and costume design. An advertisement by McRae for Clio et Claire perfume was published the same year as the New Yorker cover. The illustration is a circular art deco design and we do get to see a face. The ad is currently on offer on eBay.

Ronald McRae
eBay listing accessed May 28, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/275058574965?_skw=1926+Clio+et+Claire+Perfume&itmmeta=01JWD0BDYXT1HKVRDMEC2AAZKJ&hash=item400ac4c675:g:qmMAAOSwsoNhslne&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAABAFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1cYojS6X9soLGibxfSylLKLdUIn%2BIOjfC2o08ptxVOsoQc%2FmdYnXVULv05SGwgFreRnn2H7EfVbQ%2BYRUr17%2F9A6iSVNU6yUKomCE2WvLfVKRWRnnD

YQK8I8d%2BY%2FS4RXewdR9QKAmKeI5iDVolKjhO2%2F%2BmzI054Romrvv5cLFdSeFXROVJ9uiwtdYsomxcMXIQYIHSU%2Fnm4S6%2B7%2FMyLL9tAxxA3hsnh0yYQjrKMSvPEctTpzVgx%2FKqdgiucSwQ1AsZ5z%2Fn7A40CzZLfXJHaAUVs%2Faa%2B5lS5TPtS6Mh%2BqJOcDxICiDmp0WUsq5UhVq74hqSg%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8zfraDjZQ

Ronald McRae
eBay item description

Note:  Collectors who wish to share images of original Ronald McRae art can contact me for blog support.

McRae's New Yorker cover and its original art were previously discussed here.

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Ronald McRae at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

Illustrator Ronald McRae was active in the 1920s and '30s. His sole cover for The New Yorker was published in the spring of 1926. McRae's style embraces the art deco movement that was so popular at the time. His cover art depicts a fashionably-dressed woman, seen from behind, standing on the deck of an ocean liner. Her elongated figure holds a bouquet of roses and waves a handkerchief at her male admirers on shore below. Bon voyage!

Ronald McRae
Original art
The New Yorker, May 15, 1926

The published cover gives an idea of what the original unfaded colors may have looked like. The folded papers that the men are grasping in the original art have been edited out of the published version.

Ronald McRae
The New Yorker, May 15, 1926

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1926-05-15/flipbook/CV1/

The original art is currently on display at the Society of Illustrators in New York. It is a part of the exhibition "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration" curated by New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly.

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