Irvin, Rea, 1881-1972

Rea Irvin (1881-1972) was born in San Francisco, CA, where he studied for six months at the Hopkins Art Institute. He moved to New York, N.Y. at the age of 25 and soon began contributing his art regularly to Cosmopolitan magazine and the humorous weekly Life . He later became the first art editor of The New Yorker . Between the years 1925 and 1958, hundreds of Irvin's illustrations and cartoons were published in The New Yorker, and his art adorned the covers of 169 issues of the magazine. Irvin also created the iconic character of Eustace Tilley, a fashionable gentleman with a monocle and top hat who, from 1925 to 2000, appeared on the cover of The New Yorker every year except 1994. Irvin also developed The New Yorker 's signature type style.

From the guide to the Rea Irvin drawings, 1910-1920, (Brooklyn Historical Society)