The Monday Tilley Watch takes a glancing look at the art and artists of the latest issue of The New Yorker
The Cover: John Cuneo’s timely piece, released last week… Trump’s cuffs
The Cartoonists And Cartoons:
Twelve cartoons, thirteen cartoonists (John Cuneo has the cover). Two duos, that we know of (the Spill counts duos as one cartoonist). Two newbies: Chris Gural and Vi-An Nguyen, the 9th & 10th cartoonists added to the magazine’s stadium this year, and the 154th & 155th cartoonists brought in since Emma Allen took the cartoon editor’s reins in May of 2017. The longest active cartoonist in the issue is Roz Chast, who began contributing in July of 1978.
The Cartoon Caption Contest Cartoonists: Liza Donnelly, Johnny DiNapoli, Lonnie Millsap
The Rea Irvin Talk Watch:
Back in 2017, the above perfection by Rea Irvin disappeared from The New Yorker. It was replaced by — Gasp! Heavens! Say it ain’t so!– a redrawn version by a contemporary illustrator. Mr. Irvin’s original is a piece of art; the Spill hopes it will one day return. Read more here.
Rea Irvin’s A-Z Spill 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): 163. Number of cartoons contributed: 261.