Impressive Illustration by Miguel Covarrubias in the 1920s and ’30s

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Miguel Covarrubias (1904—1957) was a Mexican painter, caricaturist, illustrator, ethnologist and art historian. Along with his American colleague Matthew W. Stirling, he was the co-discoverer of the Olmec civilization.

Illustration by Miguel Covarrubias in the 1920s and ’30s

A man of many talents, Covarrubias also began to design sets and costumes for the theater including Caroline Dudley Reagan’s La Revue Negre starring Josephine Baker in the show that made her a smash in Paris. Other shows included Androcles and the Lion, The Four Over Thebes, and the Garrick Gaities’ Rancho Mexicano number for dancer and choreographer Rosa Rolando.

Covarrubias’s artwork and celebrity caricatures have been featured in The New Yorker and Vanity Fair magazines. The linear nature of his drawing style was highly influential to other caricaturists such as Al Hirschfeld. Covarrubias’s first book of caricatures The Prince of Wales and Other Famous Americans was a hit, though not all his subjects were thrilled that his sharp, pointed wit was aimed at them.

Covarrubias collaborated with Austrian Artist Wolfgang Paalen’s journal Dyn from 1942 to 1944. Additionally, his advertising, painting, and illustration work brought him international recognition including gallery shows in Europe, Mexico, and the United States as well as awards such as the 1929 National Art Directors’ Medal for painting in color for his work on a Steinway & Sons piano advertisement.

Covarrubias’ style was highly influential in America, especially in the 1920s and 1930s, and his artwork and caricatures of influential politicians and artists were featured on the covers of The New Yorker and Vanity Fair.

Here below are some of his work in the 1920s and 1930s.