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)

Best of 2015: Illustrations

Illustration by Roman Muradov

Here are my favorite New Yorker illustrations of 2015:

1. Conor Langton’s “Meredith Monk,” for Alex Ross’s "Guided By Voices," January 5, 2015.

2. Riccardo Vecchio’s “Matteo Renzi,” for Jane Kramer’s "The Demolition Man," June 29, 2015.

3. Daniel Krall’s “Molly Rankin,” for "Goings On: Spring Preview," March 9, 2015.

4. Chang Park’s “Kazuo Ishiguro,” for James Wood’s "The Uses of Oblivion," March 23, 2015.

5. Roman Muradov’s “Celebrating the Holidays,” for "Goings On About Town," November 30, 2015.

6. Barry Blitt’s “Donald Barthelme, Mavis Gallant, John Updike, J. D. Salinger, Muriel Spark,” for Deborah Treisman’s "Nine Decades of the Magazine: 1965-1975," February 23, 2015.

7. Rebecca Monk’s “Holiday Cocktail Lounge,” for Sarah Larson’s "Bar Tab," May 11, 2015.

8. Matthew Hollister’s “Lazy Point,” for Emma Allen’s "Bar Tab," August 10, 2015.

9. Ping Zhu’s “Cianciolo’s Kit,” for Andrea K. Scott’s "Boxing Days," June 29, 2015.

10. André Carrilho’s “Jeb Bush,” for Ryan Lizza’s "What Would Jeb Do?," October 26, 2015.

Credit: The above illustration, by Roman Muradov, is from Ian Frazier's "Greetings, Friends!," The New Yorker, December 23, 2015.

November 30, 2015 Issue

This week’s “Goings On About Town” (GOAT) brims with shuddery pleasures: Will Mebane’s jubilant “School of Rock” photo; Roman Muradov’s whimsical "Celebrating the Holidays" illustration; Richard Brody’s exquisite capsule review of Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s Cleopatra (“The director’s analytical intellectualism—with an emphasis on the diplomatic maneuvers of empire-building, the tactical complexity of ancient warfare, and the psychological pressure of romance on the levers of power—is heated by the erotic passion of Antony and Cleopatra and the intense bond between Taylor and Burton, which is as entrancing in the movie’s drama as it was in life”); Andrea K. Scott’s wonderful "Seeing Stars" on Rachel Rose’s video “Everything and More” (“unfolds onscreen for eleven minutes and orbits in the mind’s eye for days”); Shauna Lyon’s ravishing "Tables For Two" on Sushi Azabu (“An epic procession begins: a square of piquant cured tuna, a small ceramic cup of velvety uni risotto, a gorgeous pair of cold kumamoto oysters topped with fresh grated wasabi—when announcing this last part, the young sushi chef, Tasuku Murakami, points to the gigantic gnarled green wasabi root displayed in a case: See? It’s very fresh”); Colin Stokes’s sublime "Bar Tab: Caledonia" [“Michael joked, as he served a creamy pint of Belhaven ale alongside a smooth and sweet Bunnahabhain Toiteach (“the ‘bh’ is a ‘v,’ ” he offered helpfully), whose aroma piqued nostrils from a tulip-shaped Glencairn glass”]. That “whose aroma piqued nostrils from a tulip-shaped Glencairn glass” is brilliant! It inspires me to propose a toast. Here’s to GOAT – my favorite part of the magazine.