The Monday Tilley Watch takes a glancing look at the art and artists of the latest issue of The New Yorker
The Cartoonists and Cartoons
Twelve cartoons, thirteen cartoonists (Harry Bliss has illustrated a Shouts & Murmurs). There are two duos (the Spill counts duos as one cartoonist). No newbies. The longest active contributing cartoonist is Roz Chast, whose first New Yorker drawing appeared in the issue of July 3, 1978.
This week’s cartoons in a slideshow.
This week’s Cartoon Caption Contest.(Maggie Larson has drawn this week’s contest cartoon)
The Rea Irvin Talk Watch
Way way back in 2017 Rea Irvin’s perfect Talk design (shown here) was yanked — if you can believe it (I still have trouble believing it) — and replaced with a redrawn version by a contemporary illustrator. The Spill hopes that Mr. Irvin’s work returns. Read more here.
Rea Irvin’s A-Z Entry:
Rea Irvin (pictured above. Self portrait above from Meet the Artist) Born, San Francisco, 1881; died in the Virgin Islands,1972. Irvin was the cover artist for the New Yorker’s first issue, February 21, 1925. He was the magazine’s first art and only art supervisor (some refer to him as its first art editor) holding the position from 1925 until 1939 when James Geraghty assumed the title of art editor. Irvin then became art director and remained in that position until William Shawn officially succeeded Harold Ross in early 1952. Irvin’s last original work for the magazine was the magazine’s cover of July 12, 1958. The February 21, 1925 Eustace Tilley cover had been reproduced every year on the magazine’s anniversary until 1994, when R. Crumb’s Tilley-inspired cover appeared. Tilley has since reappeared, with other artists substituting from time-to-time. Number of New Yorker covers (not including the repeat appearances of the first cover every anniversary up to 1991): 179. Number of cartoons contributed: 261.