A Group: Hokinson, Irvin, Petty, Geo. Price, Steig, Peter Arno, Suares, Alajalov
Since we’re in The New Yorker‘s 100th birthday celebration year I thought it would be fun to do a grouping of some of the magazine’s artists (I haven’t done one for awhile). Here’s what you see above:
The foundation for the photo is a large poster of George Price’s one-and-only New Yorker cover. It appeared December 25, 1965. I found this years ago in a Moose Lodge flea market. How I wish we had wall space for the poster.
Top left: William Steig’s first collection: Man About Town, published in 1932. Steig, who passed away in 2003, contributed to The New Yorker for 73 years. It’s doubtful anyone will break that record.
Next to the Steig collection is Mary Petty’s one collection, This Petty Pace (1945). The cover of the collection is one of her all-time best New Yorker covers, published May 24, 1941. Since there is no other Petty collection available, this is the one to have. It includes color plates of several of her New Yorker covers (and…an introduction by James Thurber. What more cold you ask for.)
Next to Mary Petty’s cover is a New Yorker WWII “Excerpts” issue. This one’s dated July 1945 and is numbered 31. I’ll quote from the inside front cover:
“These excerpts from The New Yorker are reprinted for our advertisers and their agents to whom, during paper rationing, we are unable to send complete copies.”
The cover artist for this issue is Constantin Alajalov, who contributed 172 spectacular covers to the magazine between 1926 and 1960.
Upper right is a copy of The American Mercury, from August of 1948. It includes the cover story, “Ross Of The New Yorker” by Allen Churchill. Arthur Lidov is given credit for the cover (and, presumably, he was responsible for the not bad version of Eustace Tilley). I’ve always like this cover — perhaps because of Ross’s slight grin.
Lower left is one of Helen Hokinson’s 67 New Yorker covers (this one published November 12, 1949. It’s included in her posthumous collection, The Hokinson Festival. Ms. Hokinson was considered by Harold Ross to be one of his two greatest artists…
…Peter Arno was the other one. Here we see the one Arno collection, For Members Only, not like his others. It’s not a collection of his New Yorker work, but rather a collection of fake newspaper stories, written by and illustrated by Arno.
Arno’s For Member’s Only is partially covering up a favorite New Yorker covers collection: Seasons At The New Yorker (published in 1984). The cover (it appeared on the issue of September 23, 1974) is by Jean-Claude Suares (his only New Yorker cover). Seeing this book always reminds me of attending the opening for the exhibit of work in the book. I can still see Brendan Gill standing out on 5th Avenue, chatting on the sidewalk outside of the gallery. He was holding a glass of champagne.
Finally, a bound volume of New Yorkers (February 18, 1939 through April 29, 1939) with the 1939 anniversary issue, art by who else but the fab Rea Irvin, seen through an amber, slightly translucent, protective cover. Here’s to Rea Irvin!
It’s worth noting that all of the above cover artists, with the exception (there’s always one!) of Mr. Suares, were also New Yorker cartoonists.
______________________________________________________________________
To see thumbnail bios of all the above artists please visit the Spill‘s A-Z section.
_____________________________________________________________________
Jules Feiffer: 1929-2025
The one-and-only Jules Feiffer has passed away at age 95. Mr. Feiffer first contributed work to The New Yorker in 1992.
The New York Times: “Jules Feiffer, Acerbic Cartoonist, Writer And Much Else, Dies At 95”
The Washington Post: “Jules Feiffer, Cartoonist Of Acerbic Wit And Satire Dies At 95”
Mr. Feiffer’s first appearance in The New Yorker was in the issue of October 5, 1992 was followed up with 19 more contributions over 11 years.
About The New Yorker, Mr. Feiffer had this to say in a New York Times article (Feb. 14, 2000):
”I grew up reading The New Yorker, but it was the furthest thing from my ideal. I was too Bronx for Arno. I grew up loving comic strips.” And what he calls his ”abrasive social and political commentary” was far from The New Yorker’s ideal. ”William Shawn broke out in hives when he saw my stuff, but Tina [Brown] didn’t have that problem. She wanted me in the first issue.”*
*In a AP story published the week of Ms. Brown’s first issue as editor [“New Editor Gives New Yorker New Look”] the article had this to say about Mr. Feiffer’s first appearance in the magazine:
“Brown said it was an impromptu offering from Feiffer and she hopes he and other cartoonists respond frequently to her having declared space open in the magazine.”