The Art of TIME

By Arthur Hochstein, Art Director

Almost from the magazine's inception in 1923, the cover of TIME has been a cultural touchstone in American life. The famous and the infamous, the heroes and the scoundrels, the significant trends and the momentous events of the day have appeared on it, portrayed by artists and photographers who gave TIME its signature visual style. Today's magazine covers evolve from that traditional style. Where art and illustration once prevailed, we now see almost exclusively photography, a medium that imparts immediacy and often suggests exclusive access to high-profile subjects. Today's covers portray concepts, ideas and trends as well as people in the news. The gallery of covers here represents artwork and paintings of newsmakers that gave TIME its signature style. This art doesn't purport to showcase the best or most important covers in TIME's history, just some of its most beautiful and--for want of a better word--timeless.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1945 By Ernest Hamlin Baker

Adolph Hitler, 1945 By Boris Artzybasheff

Jackie Robinson, 1947 By Ernest Hamlin Baker

Coca-Cola, 1950 By Boris Artzybasheff

Charles de Gaulle, 1959 By Bernard Buffet

Sophia Loren, 1962 By J. Bouche

R. Buckminster Fuller, 1964 By Boris Artzybasheff

Thelonious Monk, 1964 By Boris Chaliapin

Martin Luther King Jr., 1964 By Robert Vickrey

Robert F. Kennedy, 1968 By Roy Lichtenstein

Richard Nixon, 1972 By Stanley Glaubach

Jesus, 1988 By Tom Bentkowski