The New Yorker: From Cover to Cover

For a century, The New Yorker cover has signaled authority at a glance: famous lettering set against images that amuse, provoke, and unerringly capture the spirit of our times. Since 1993, Mouly has guided that iconic format into new visual territory, honoring the magazine’s visual authority, treating its covers as journalism on current affairs, and expanding its range globally with a roster of world-famous illustrators.

In this unparalleled collection, Mouly presents hundreds of covers that explore the evolution of the magazine’s iconic look, from its origins to now. She charts the history of the magazine’s cover imagery decade by decade, and highlights special illustrators whose work defined the magazine’s identity, including Bruce McCall, Saul Steinberg, Roz Chast, R. Crumb, Charles Burns, Chris Ware, Adrian Tomine, Kadir Nelson, David Hockney, and Kara Walker.

She also brings famous, era-defining covers to the forefront, including Steinberg’s iconic New York-centric map “View of the World From 9th Avenue” (March 19, 1976); the black-on-black silhouette of the World Trade Center towers in “9/11/01” (September 24, 2001), conceived by Art Spiegelman and drawn by Mouly; and Barry Blitt’s controversial “The Politics of Fear” (July 21, 2008), depicting the Obamas’ fist-bump.

It is sure to appeal not only to New Yorker devotees but to anyone interested in art that reflects and inspires the cultural conversation.