Where Have All the Great "New Yorker" Illustrators Gone?

Riccardo Vecchio, "Bill Knott" (2017)

It pains me to say this, but New Yorker illustration isn’t as consistently interesting as it used to be. I miss the brilliant work of Luis Grañena, Robert Risko, André Carrilho, Edward Sorel, Ralph Steadman, Jorge Arevalo, Riccardo Vecchio, Marcellus Hall, David Hughes, Gerald Scarfe, Laurie Rosenwald, Edwin Fotheringham, Conor Langton, Marc Aspinall, Kirsten Ulve, among others. 

Remember this great Ralph Steadman?

It’s from James Wood’s “A Fine Rage” (The New Yorker, April 6, 2009), a critical essay on George Orwell.

Remember Edward Sorel’s wonderful flying, letter-shedding, double portrait of Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop for Dan Chiasson’s “Works on Paper” (The New Yorker, October 27, 2008)?

Here’s a beauty by Luis Grañena, from Anthony Lane’s “Command Performances” (The New Yorker, November 21, 2010), a review of Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech.

Remember the superb David Hughes portrait of Les Murray in Dan Chiasson’s “Fire Down Below” (The New Yorker, June 4, 2007)?

And who could forget the marvelous André Carrilho portrait of Lady Gaga and Beyoncé that appeared in “Goings On About Town,” June 27, 2011)?

And how about Conor Langton’s eye-catching, fractured-faced, multi-hued seance for David Denby’s “Under the Spell” (The New Yorker, July 20, 2014), a review of Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight)?

I could go on and on – so many inspired images to pick from. But in the last few years the overall quality has slipped. There are still pearls to be found [e.g., Riccardo Vecchio’s “Bill Knott” (2017); Andrea Ventura’s “Jenny Erpenbeck” (2017); this year’s Bendik Kaltenborn portrait of former Trump fixer Michael Cohen], but not as abundantly as before. 

Best of 2018: Illustrations

Bendik Kaltenborn, illustration for Andrew Marantz's "Friends in High Places"

Here are my favorite New Yorker illustrations of 2018:

1. Bendik Kaltenborn, illustration for Andrew Marantz’s “Friends in High Places” (January 9, 2018).

2. Chris Gash, illustration for Alexandra Schwartz’s “Margin of Error” (October 29, 2018).

3. Icinori, illustration for Andrea K. Scott’s “Goings On About Town: In the Museums” (July 2, 2018).

4. Jeff Östberg, illustration for Anthony Lane’s “Extralegal Actions” (September 17, 2018)

5. Tom Bachtell, illustration for Anna Russell’s “Leafy Greens” (July 9 & 16, 2018).

6. João Fazenda, illustration for Michael Schulman’s “Grasshopper” (October 15, 2018).

7. Jorge Colombo, illustration for Neima Jahromi’s “Bar Tab: Marie’s Crisis” (May 7, 2018).

8. Roman Muradov, illustration for Russell Platt’s “Goings On About Town: Rites of Spring” (April 2, 2018).

9. Paul Rogers, illustration for Anthony Lane’s “Courting Disaster” (January 15, 2018).

10. Richard McGuire, illustration for Alex Ross’s “The Sounds of Music” (August 27, 2018).

11. Ariel Davis, illustration for Steve Smith's "Goings On About Town: Gesamtkunstwerk" (October 22, 2018)



12. Ben Kirchner, illustration for Ian Frazier's "Airborne" (February 5, 2018)

January 15, 2018 Issue

Bendik Kaltenborn is one of The New Yorker’s best illustrators. He has a dandy picture in this week’s issue, showing Trump swaddled in a bathrobe, lying on the Oval Office carpet, blissfully watching his favorite morning show, “Fox & Friends.” It’s an illustration for Andrew Marantz’s “Friends in High Places,” in which Marantz brilliantly describes “the thin fourth wall between Trump and his TV.” Kaltenborn captures Trump’s infatuation perfectly.

Best of 2017: Illustrations

Bendik Kaltenborn, "RJD2" (2017)

Here are my favorite New Yorker illustrations of 2017:

1. Bendik Kaltenborn’s “RJD2,” for Matthew Trammell’s “Night Life: New Routes” (January 9, 2017).

2. Riccardo Vecchio’s “Bill Knott,” for Dan Chiasson’s “The Fugitive” (April 3, 2017).

3. Riccardo Vecchio’s “Fernando Pessoa,” for Adam Kirsch’s “Voices from the Void” (September 4, 2017).

4. Edward Sorel’s “Sketchbook: Whack Jobs” (September 11, 2017).

5. Andrea Ventura’s “Jenny Erpenbeck,” for James Wood’s “Strangers Among Us” (September 25, 2017).

6. Bob Staake’s “Philip Kerr,” for Jane Kramer’s “The Plot Thickens” (July 10 & 17, 2017).

7. Tom Bachtell’s “Michel Houellebecq,” for Lauren Collins’ “Sideline” (June 19, 2017).

8. Vincent Mahé’s “The Tank,” for Alex Ross’s “Tank Music” (July 24, 2017).

9. Gizem Vural’s “L. A. Rhapsody,” for Alex Ross’s “Classical Music: L. A. Rhapsody” (March 20, 2017).

10. Byron Eggenschwiler’s “The Dead,” for Hilton Als’s “Memento Mori” (December 4, 2017).