The Monday Tilley Watch takes a glancing look at the art and artists of the latest issue of The New Yorker
As with the past two Mondays, The New Yorker digital issue was not posted as usual at 6 AM, and as of 9:00 AM is still not posted. Perhaps this is the new norm(?). I’ll piece together, as best I can, the cartoon content, and if I’ve missed anything I’ll add it once I can see the virtual issue.
The Cartoonists and Cartoons
Liam Walsh, Carolita Johnson, Anjali Chandrashekar, Drew Dernavich, Tom Chitty, Adam Douglas Thompson, Roz Chast, Lonnie Millsap, Robert Leighton, Mick Stevens, P.C. Vey, Sarah Kempa, Lars Kenseth, Sam Gross, Edward Steed
Fifteen cartoons, sixteen cartoonists (in a “Sketchpad” authored by three individuals, Ali Fitzgerald is the lone New Yorker cartoonist).
[Update: Ali Fitzgerald is credited as the illustrator for the Sketchpad, not as a co-author of the piece]No newbies, and no duos (that we know of). The longest active contributing artist in the issue is Roz Chast, who began contributing in July of 1978.
Always good to see a drawing by the late great Sam Gross.
This week’s cartoons (presented in a slideshow)
The Cartoon Caption Contest (a duo, Pia Guerra and Ian Boothby, contributed this week’s drawing)
The Rea Irvin Talk Watch
We’re approaching the 8th month of The New Yorker’s yearlong 100th birthday celebration. There’s still time for the magazine to honor Rea Irvin (the fellow who did so much for the art of The New Yorker — and, one could easily argue, for The New Yorker itself ) by bringing back Mr. Irvin’s above perfect Talk design, abandoned in May of 2017, and replaced by — yee gads! — a redrawn version by a contemporary illustrator. 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.