This week’s issue has a cover by William Steig in the spare mode of New Yorkers past, and it’s a corker. It appears to be on heavily textured paper, almost wallpaper; the face (it’s called “Face”) is both surreal and perfectly descriptive; and the colors are sublime. I like seeing the Irvin type on the cover situated so crisply and clearly, too. Probably not coincidentally, there’s also a big Steig show at the Jewish Museum in New York, from today through March 16:

Hailed as the “King of Cartoons,” William Steig had a long and acclaimed career as both a brilliant cartoonist and an award-winning, beloved author of children’s literature, including his 1990 picture book Shrek! (“fear” in Yiddish) which has been turned into a series of popular animated films. Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 14, 1907, to Eastern European Jewish immigrants, Steig grew up in the Bronx and began illustrating for The New Yorker in 1930. His prolific association with the magazine is the longest by far of any of its cartoonists, with over 1,600 drawings as well as over 120 covers published during a period of 73 years. Scheduled for the centennial of the artist’s birth, this exhibition pays tribute to Steig’s incredible creativity by featuring a wide selection of original drawings for both his New Yorker cartoons and his children’s books such as Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Doctor De Soto, Amos & Boris, Brave Irene, Gorky Rises, Dominic, When Everybody Wore a Hat, and of course Shrek! as well as his less known mid-life “symbolic drawings.” This in-depth presentation also sheds light on Steig’s life as it relates to his work and will be complemented by a range of public and educational programs for both adults and children.

Check out the museum’s online supplements, too, including an essay called “Early Beginnings at The New Yorker” with accompanying cartoons.