The New Yorker, a renowned American magazine known for its intellectual content and iconic covers, is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2025 with a series of events, including an exhibition showcasing Italian-themed covers at the Italian Consulate General in New York. The exhibition, scheduled for May, will feature covers inspired by Italian themes, such as Saul Steinberg's iconic depiction of Piazza San Marco reflected in the Grand Canal, as well as covers created by Italian illustrators.
The New Yorker's journey began on February 21, 1925, with the first issue featuring the fictional dandy Eustace Tilly chasing a butterfly through a monocle on the cover. This character, created by the magazine's first art director Rea Irvin, quickly became the magazine's mascot, representing elegance, refinement, and cultural snobbery. Over the years, The New Yorker has published over 85,000 cartoons and 90,000 articles, many by renowned authors such as J.D. Salinger, Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, John Updike, Vladimir Nabokov, Gabriel García Márquez, Haruki Murakami, and Margaret Atwood.
The magazine's influence extends beyond its written content. Since 2014, The New Yorker has won eight Pulitzer Prizes, and its pages have inspired numerous films, including "In Cold Blood" based on Truman Capote's non-fiction work, "The Hours" based on a story by Michael Cunningham, and "Brokeback Mountain" adapted from a story by Annie Proulx. The magazine has also played a significant role in shaping public discourse, with investigative pieces by Seymour Hersh on the My Lai massacre and Ronan Farrow on the Harvey Weinstein abuse case.
The New Yorker's centennial celebration will include a digital archive of its entire collection, making available to subscribers treasures from James Baldwin, Shirley Jackson, E.B. White, Hannah Arendt, Art Spiegelman, and over 4,000 issues previously only available in PDF format. The magazine's impact on the global art world is undeniable, contributing to the development of literary and artistic trends, and shaping public discourse on various social and cultural issues.