The New Yorker magazine has made history by commissioning six renowned contemporary photographers to create photographic covers for its 100th anniversary celebration, marking a significant departure from the publication's century-long tradition of illustrated covers. The prestigious magazine enlisted the talents of Marilyn Minter, Awol Erizku, Ryan McGinley, Collier Schorr, Camila Falquez, and Alex Prager to reimagine archival illustrated covers as celebrity portrait photographs for this milestone centennial edition.

This anniversary project represents a rare exception to The New Yorker's editorial tradition, as the magazine has featured photography on its cover only twice throughout its entire history. The first instance occurred during the publication's 75th anniversary in 2000, when renowned portraitist William Wegman dressed one of his signature dogs as Eustace Tilley, the magazine's iconic dandyish mascot originally created by artist Rea Irvin. More recently, acclaimed photographer Cindy Sherman appeared as Eustace on the September 1 and 8, 2025, double issue dedicated to examining the culture industry.

Each photographer brought their unique artistic vision to reinterpreting classic New Yorker covers with contemporary celebrity subjects. Awol Erizku created a striking portrait of acclaimed director Spike Lee embodying Eustace Tilley, cleverly replacing the character's traditional monocle with a movie camera to reflect Lee's cinematic legacy. Meanwhile, photographer Marilyn Minter paid homage to Barbara Shermund's 1925 cover featuring a woman adorned with grape-cluster earrings by photographing actor Sadie Sink through glass, creating a soft, dreamlike effect that captures the essence of the original illustration.

Alex Prager delivered one of the most elaborate reinterpretations by recreating Julian de Miskey's October 18, 1930, cover that depicted an elegant soirée of cigarette-smoking guests in top hats and pearls. Her ambitious photograph features actress Sophie Thatcher alongside her identical twin sister, artist Ellie Thatcher, both dressed in striking red evening gowns and positioned back-to-back amid a crowd of men in formal tuxedos holding cigarettes and cigars, faithfully echoing the sophisticated atmosphere of the original 1930s illustration.

Collier Schorr contributed a nautical-themed photograph featuring actress Julia Garner from the series "Weapons" and comedian Cole Escola, both dressed in classic sailor attire as a tribute to Stanley W. Reynolds's May 29, 1926, cover. Ryan McGinley took a different approach by capturing a group of friends in a relaxed pose in front of the Fountain of Life at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, drawing inspiration from Charles Saxon's June 10, 1974, cover that showed band members in bell-bottom pants lounging casually at the base of a column in Central Park.

Completing the collection, Camila Falquez created an intimate close-up portrait of Broadway and film actress Ariana DeBose holding a magnifying glass, serving as a contemporary tribute to Lorenzo Mattotti's magazine cover from January 11, 1999. This diverse range of photographic interpretations demonstrates how classic New Yorker imagery can be translated into modern portrait photography while maintaining the publication's distinctive aesthetic and cultural relevance.

The special 100th anniversary issues of The New Yorker are now available for purchase at $9.99 each, offering readers the opportunity to own these historic covers that bridge the gap between the magazine's illustrated past and its photographic present. This unprecedented project not only celebrates The New Yorker's centennial milestone but also showcases how contemporary photographers can breathe new life into classic editorial imagery through celebrity portraiture and creative reinterpretation.