The Tilley Watch Online, May 11-15, 2026

An end of the week listing of New Yorker artists whose work has appeared on newyorker.com features

Daily Cartoon: Mo Welch, Adam Douglas Thompson, Brendan Loper, Avi Steinberg, (the duo of) Pia Guerra and Ian Boothby. See them here. 

The Daily: How To Win Our Cartoon Caption Contest— a Q&A with Caroline Mimbs Nyce and the magazine’s deputy cartoon editor, Rachel Aster Perlman.

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James Thurber, speaking to Alistaire Cooke on Omnibus:

“…after I had sold a few to the New Yorker magazine, Andy White, my colleague there, found me carefully shading in something and he said, “ Hey, stop that, don’t do that — if you ever became good you’d be mediocre.” 

This somewhat famous quote has stuck with me for decades (I’m not really sure how famous it is). It seems, on its face, simple advice, but I believe there’s way more to it than “Hey…don’t do that.” E.B. White, who of course was an advocate of clarity in writing, was heading off a notion that so many fledgling artists develop — that they should aspire to becoming “better” at drawing. If that’s really what you want to do, than, “Hey…do that!”  But I believe the hunt for “better” can sometimes stifle the artist (please remember I said, “sometimes”).

One of the very best things about The New Yorker is that it embraced Thurber’s art as it was, not as New Yorker editors might wish it would be. That’s one of the wonders of the magazine’s editorial DNA: staying out of an artist’s way. Back in 2013, in my interview with veteran artist, Dana Fradon, he discussed The New Yorker’s Art editor, James Geraghty. Mr. Fradon said Geraghty’s editorial direction was simply, “Make it beautiful.” Thanks to the magazine’s hands-off policy, and E.B. White’s two cents, Thurber did Thurber (beautifully!) and we are all the luckier for it.

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James Thurber Born, Columbus, Ohio, December 8, 1894. Died 1961, New York City. New Yorker work: 1927 -1961, with several pieces run posthumously. According to the New Yorker’s legendary editor, William Shawn, “In the early days, a small company of writers, artists, and editors — E.B. White, James Thurber, Peter Arno, and Katharine White among them — did more to make the magazine what it is than can be measured.”

Key cartoon collection: The Seal in the Bedroom and Other Predicaments (Harper & Bros., 1932). Key anthology (writings & drawings): The Thurber Carnival (Harper & Row, 1945). There have been a number of Thurber biographies. Burton Bernstein’s Thurber (Dodd, Mead, 1975) and Harrison Kinney’s James Thurber: His Life and Times (Henry Holt & Co., 1995) are essential. Website

Looking at James Thurber’s first New Yorker cartoons this morning, it came as quite a surprise that the famous “Thurber dog” did not make an appearance in the magazine until 29 Thurber cartoons had been published in the magazine (I’m not including the ones that showed up in his “Our Pet Department” series. While I love those dogs, they’re not the dog you see above, shown here in eraser form). In fact, not a one of those first 29 Thurber drawings had a dog anywhere in sight. When the classic Thurber dog did show up, in the issue of February 6, 1932, it was not an incidental dog in a cartoon featuring humans. The dog was the star of the show — the main attraction, and it made its debut in a 16 part(!) spread that traveled across the magazine’s gutter. I’ll show you the first part here:

The entire piece can be found in his collections, The Seal In The Bedroom, The Thurber Carnival, and Thurber’s Dogs (to mention just a few). If you have a subscription to The New Yorker you can, of course, find it in the archive, on pages 22-23 of the February 6, 1932 issue. It’s online here as well.

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James Thurber’s A-Z:

James Thurber Born, Columbus, Ohio, December 8, 1894. Died 1961, New York City. New Yorker work: 1927 -1961, with several pieces run posthumously. According to the New Yorker’s legendary editor, William Shawn, “In the early days, a small company of writers, artists, and editors — E.B. White, James Thurber, Peter Arno, and Katharine White among them — did more to make the magazine what it is than can be measured.”

Key cartoon collection: The Seal in the Bedroom and Other Predicaments (Harper & Bros., 1932). Key anthology (writings & drawings): The Thurber Carnival (Harper & Row, 1945). There have been a number of Thurber biographies. Burton Bernstein’s Thurber (Dodd, Mead, 1975) and Harrison Kinney’s James Thurber: His Life and Times (Henry Holt & Co., 1995) are essential. Website

Fave Photo Of The Week

The above group photo was taken the other day in Washington, D.C., at DC/Dox, where Women Laughing was screened. The film, directed by Kathleen Hughes (third from left) and Liza Donnelly second from left), has been popping up at numerous festivals this year.

New Yorker cartoonists, Sara Lautman (second from right), and Emily Sanders Hopkins (first on the right) participated in a panel discussion following the screening.

Also pictured: Women Laughing producers Judith Mizrachy (first on the left), and Nathalie Seaver (fourth from left).

Photo by (New Yorker cartoonist) Marshall Hopkins

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And In Other Donnelly News…

Check out the latest in the series, Talk & Draw With Heather Cox Richardson and Liza Donnelly here (the subject this time ’round is Watergate).

Knicks Covers…

After Game 1 of the Knicks/Spurs game the other night, The New Yorker went live on Substack to dissect the evening. The magazine’s editor, David Remnick, was joined by two contributors, Vinson Cunningham and Louisa Thomas.

Mr. Remnick, talking about the reading public’s demand for Mark Ulriksen’s recent New Yorker cover (above, left) said (jokingly): “Well, my grand plan is to just put the Knicks on the cover for the next 20 weeks.” 

Knicks fans will recall John Cuneo‘s great cover of December 9, 2024:

As Summer begins, here’s a cartoon sampler for you from the archives.

The New Yorker, July 23, 1984:

The New Yorker, June 18, 2001:

The New Yorker, September 3, 2001:

The New Yorker, August 21, 2000:

The New Yorker, August 26, 2013:

The New Yorker, June 13, 1983:

Upcoming Women Laughing Screenings 

Women Laughing, Liza Donnelly and Kathleen Hughes documentary film about New Yorker women cartoonists past and present, will be screened at a number of venues beginning this Spring and into the Fall. You can see the schedule here.

Please note that three screenings are happening within the next few days:

Portland Museum of Art
May 9, 2026 Portland, ME

The Moviehouse
May 9, 2026 Millerton, NY
Followed by conversation with Liza Donnelly, Kathleen Hughes, Amy Hwang. 

The Church
May 15, 2026 Sag Harbor, NY
Followed by conversation with Liza Donnelly, Kathleen Hughes and Emma Allen.

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Update: Thurber Prize For American Humor In Writing Awarded

Congrats to Shalom Auslander for being awarded the 2026 Thurber Prize for American Humor in Writing … and congrats once again to Emily Flake the (previously announced) 2026 Thurber Prize winner for American Humor In Cartoon Art.

The Monday Tilley Watch takes a glancing look at the art and artists of the latest issue of The New Yorker

The Cartoonists and Cartoons

Fifteen cartoons, fifteen cartoonists. No newbies. Two duos, that we know of (the Spill counts duos as one cartoonist). The longest active contributor in the issue is this cartoonist (I began contributing in 1977).

This week’s cartoons (in a slideshow)

This week’s Cartoon Caption Contest (Avi Steinberg provides this week’s contest drawing)

The Rea Irvin Talk Watch

Once again, Rea Irvin’s perfect Talk design (shown here) has not returned to the magazine. Every Monday morning, since May of 2017, when a redrawn(!) version by a contemporary illustrator replaced Mr. Irvin’s work, I’ve opened up the newest issue hoping to see the original, but alas…

Read more here.

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Rea Irvin (pictured above. Self portrait above from Meet the Artist) Born, San Francisco, 1881; died in the Virgin Islands,1972. Irvin was the cover artist for the New Yorker’s first issue, February 21, 1925. He was the magazine’s first art and only art supervisor (some refer to him as its first art editor) holding the position from 1925 until 1939 when James Geraghty assumed the title of art editor. Irvin then became art director and remained in that position until William Shawn officially succeeded Harold Ross in early 1952. Irvin’s last original work for the magazine was the magazine’s cover of July 12, 1958. The February 21, 1925 Eustace Tilley cover had been reproduced every year on the magazine’s anniversary until 1994, when R. Crumb’s Tilley-inspired cover appeared. Tilley has since reappeared, with other artists substituting from time-to-time. Number of New Yorker covers (not including the repeat appearances of the first cover every anniversary up to 1991): 179. Number of cartoons contributed: 261.

Exhibit Of Interest: Mick Stevens to Show Work On Martha’s Vineyard 

Mick Stevens, who began contributing to The New Yorker in December of 1979, tells the Spill that:

“There’s a show of a dozen or so of my older original New Yorker drawings here at The Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse in Vineyard Haven. The show will run for the entire month of May. The artist will be lurking there from time to time.”

Here’s a personal fave New Yorker drawing by Mr. Stevens (not sure this will be included in the exhibit) :

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Some Stevens Cartoon Collections…

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A New Yorker State Of Mind Looks At The Issue Of April 18, 1936

Such fun New Yorker time traveling via the weekly New Yorker State of Mind posts.

This week: the issue of April 18, 1936.

Read it here!

Cover by the one-and-only Rea Irvin.

Peter Kuper’s Spy Vs. Spy Poster For MAD Issue #600

Peter Kuper, who began contributing to The New Yorker in 2011, has posted his Spy Vs. Spy poster appearing in MAD Issue #600 (Mr. Kuper has written and illustrated that feature since 1997).

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Interview Of Interest: Ivan Ehlers.

From Printmag.com, June 12, 2026, “Ivan Ehlers’ Political Cartoons Feel More Important Than Ever.” 

A short interview with Mr. Ehlers who began contributing to The New Yorker in July of 2021. Visit his website here.

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The Tilley Watch Online, June 8-12, 2026

An end of the week listing of New Yorker artists whose work has appeared on newyorker.com features

Daily Cartoon: Jorge Penne, Ngozi Ukazu, Bob Eckstein, Keith Knight, (the duo of) Jason Chatfield & Scott Dooley.

Artist At Large: Millie von Platen’s “Superstitious Behaviors Of Knicks Superfans”

Sketchbook: Zoe Si’s “Power Play: Behind The Music of ‘Heated Rivalry'”

Barry Blitt’s Kvetchbook: “Looksmaxxing For Dummies”

The Tilley Watch Online, May 4-8, 2026

An end of the week listing of New Yorker artists whose work has appeared on newyorker.com features

Daily Cartoon: Emily Flake, Victoria Roberts, Ben Schwartz, Bob Eckstein, Olivia Pecini (a bonus cartoon by an online only cartoonist), Meredith Southard.

See them here (in a slideshow)

Barry Blitt’s Kvetchbook: “Straight Outta Hormuz” 

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Happy Mother’s Day

One from The New Yorker, August 19, 1985.

Two New Yorker Artists Are Pulitzer Finalists

We learned yesterday that Peter Kuper (above, left) and Ivan Ehlers (on the right) were named finalists in the Pulitzer Prize category of Illustrated Reporting and Commentary. The Spill congratulates both of these fine folks.

Mr. Kuper began contributing to The New Yorker in 2011; Mr. Ehlers in 2021.

Peter Kuper’s website

Ivan Ehlers’ website

See the full list of 2026 winners and finalists here.

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Article Of Interest: Alan Dunn’s Architectural Drawings

From Apollo Magazine, April 27, 2026, “The Cartoonist with A Fine Line In Architectural Criticism” 

— this piece by Will Wiles comes just weeks before the publication of Gabriele Neri’s Alan Dunn: The Cartoonist As Architectural Critic (May 25, 2026. MIT Press).

Mr. Dunn was, for many years, the most published New Yorker artist.

(My thanks to Mike Rhode for the link) 

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Alan Dunn’s A-Z Entry:

Alan Dunn (self portrait above from Meet the Artist) Born in Belmar, New Jersey, August 11, 1900, died in New York City, May 20, 1974. New Yorker work: 1926 -1974 Key collections: Rejections (Knopf, 1931), Who’s Paying For This Cab? (Simon & Schuster, 1945), A Portfolio of Social Cartoons ( Simon & Schuster, 1968). One of the most published New Yorker cartoonists (1,906 cartoons) , Mr. Dunn was married to Mary Petty — together they lived and worked at 12 East 88th Street, where, according to the NYTs, Alan worked “seated in a small chair at a card table, drawing in charcoal and grease pencil.”

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More Dunn…Rejections (Knopf, 1931), and Who’s Paying for This Cab? A Book of Cartoons from the New Yorker (Simon and Schuster, 1945).

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