Two Chances To See Getz’s New Yorker Covers

The New Yorker commands a unique place among American magazines. Since the 1940s it has transformed itself many times, from a publication covering New York City into one with a national cultural reach, then one adding long-form journalism with over a hundred creative nonfiction pieces by John McPhee, now one including meticulously researched investigative journalism. But one feature of the magazine has remained the same: the imaginative covers.

Arthur Getz, who lived in Sharon from 1969 until his death in 1996, produced 210 of those covers, more than any other illustrator. Now he is receiving his due in exhibitions at The Hotchkiss Library of Sharon and, soon, at The Moviehouse in Millerton, both courtesy of his family.

Getz brought a unique, painterly sensibility to his covers, each preceded by numerous drawings before the finished piece was delivered to the magazine. Most of his covers had a pronounced vanishing point, which gave them depth and perspective. While some covers depicted a bucolic world of country hills and trees and fields, most brought the contrasts of New York City — nightclubs, busy streets, views down long cross streets — to life. Getz was especially good with the changing light and shadows of the city.

In the Sharon show, “Red Canopy” recalls the days of music, jazz and nightclubs in the city. Rendered in thick, dark colors punctuated by slashes of light, figures are entering a club — taking a few steps down to the very-New York City sunken doorway under the red awning. Getz has captured both a moment in time and the energy and excitement of those club days.

“Cruise Ship, West Village” is an assured example of Getz’s way with perspective. We look into the picture and along a brownstone and store-lined street, as the buildings grow smaller block by block until we see the bow of a ship tethered to a dock in the Hudson River. “Grand Central Terminal” is full of people and a feeling of energy and hurry.

Getz’s landscapes, both concepts for magazine covers and the paintings he made after he moved to Connecticut, are full of the full-keyed palette he preferred, but laid on with a directness and, often, a flatness that can seem almost abstract. Yet they have a directness and honesty, with none of the visual tricks that are found in so much abstraction. 

Look at “Windy Day,” and feel the stiff breeze, or at “Joe Pye Weed and Goldenrod” and reach for allergy medication. “Autumn Meadow” captures the unique light, and a bit of the growing melancholy, of fall, while “Willow Tree on the Housatonic” presents the incomparable willow branches reflected in the river. 

“The Art of Arthur Getz” runs at The Hotchkiss Library of Sharon through June 30. “Getz: Covers from The New Yorker Magazine” opens at The Moviehouse in Millerton on June 2 with a reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The show will run through August 28.