The New Yorker Magazine Commissions Six Photographers to Shoot 100th Anniversary Covers
To mark its 100th anniversary, The New Yorker magazine commissioned six photographers to reimagine its historical illustrated covers as photographs.
The New Yorker hired contemporary photographers Marilyn Minter, Awol Erizku, Ryan McGinley, Collier Schorr, Camila Falquez, and Alex Prager to reinterpret archival covers using celebrity portraits for the publication’s centennial edition.
Over its century-long history, The New Yorker has relied almost entirely on illustrations for its covers. Photography has appeared on the cover only twice before, according to the magazine. For The New Yorker’s 75th anniversary in 2000, portraitist William Wegman dressed one of his dogs as Eustace Tilley, the magazine’s dandyish mascot originally drawn by Rea Irvin. More recently, photographer Cindy Sherman appeared on the September 1 and 8, 2025, issue as Eustace for a special issue on the culture industry.
For the 100th anniversary, The New Yorker asked six photographers to transform past illustrated covers into real-life portraits featuring well-known figures. Awol Erizku photographed director Spike Lee as Eustace, replacing the character’s classic monocle with a movie camera.
Photographer Marilyn Minter revisited Barbara Shermund’s 1925 cover of a woman adorned with grape-cluster earrings. Minter’s version features actor Sadie Sink, photographed through glass to create a soft, dreamlike effect.
Alex Prager reinterpreted Julian de Miskey’s October 18, 1930, cover showing a soirée of cigarette-smoking guests in top hats and pearls. Her photograph stars actress Sophie Thatcher alongside her identical twin, artist Ellie Thatcher, dressed in red evening gowns back-to-back amid a crowd of men in tuxedos with cigarettes and cigars, closely echoing the original illustration.
Collier Schorr photographed Weapons actress Julia Garner and comedian Cole Escola in sailor attire, referencing Stanley W. Reynolds’s May 29, 1926, cover.
Photographer Ryan McGinley captured a group of friends posing in front of the Fountain of Life at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx for his cover. The photograph draws inspiration from Charles Saxon’s June 10, 1974, cover for The New Yorker, which showed band members in bell-bottoms lounging at the base of a Central Park column.
Finally, Camila Falquez photographed Broadway and film actress Ariana DeBose in close-up, holding a magnifying glass. This image pays tribute to Lorenzo Mattotti’s magazine cover in January 11, 1999.
The 100th anniversary issues of The New Yorker are available to buy for $9.99.
Image credits: All photos by The New Yorker.
