The New Yorker Thanksgiving Cover Conjures Past-to-Present Parallel

The New Yorker is renowned for its allegorical cover art. The drawing for the Thanksgiving issue adds yet another page to this illustrious tradition.

The issue, on newsstands November 28, features an illustration drawn by Christoph Niemann, a New York-based illustrator, animator and graphic designer.

The November cover depicts a stream of pilgrims moving quietly through the night under a barbed-wire fence akin to the Mexico-United States barrier located in the southwestern United States.

One pilgrim woman is pictured crawling under the fence as two men run, sweating, in front of her.

The artwork is entitled Promised Land.

Too often in politics, very complex subjects are being turned into sound bites, so it's easy to take them apart, Niemann told The New Yorker.

I draw a parallel between current immigrants and early settlers-the hope is that it will provide context, to help keep things in perspective. Cartoonists, not politicians, should be the ones who condense political discussions into simple images.

Niemann has previously draw cover illustrations for The New Yorker that play with American icons.

One such cover is Declaration of Independence from the July 5, 2004, issue. The cover depicts a July 4^th celebration but shows blue highlighted Americans screaming at red highlighted Americans, in lieu of the 2004 Presidential Election.

Another cover was S.O.S. from the August 15 & 22, 2011, issue. The cover depicts some portly moneyed gentlemen smiling and drinking as the Titanic sinks behind them. Draw into the illustration is a tumbling stock market line and oil in the water. The implication was, of course, the faltering economy and increasing socioeconomic disparities.

Niemann studied at the Stuttgart Academy of Fine Arts and has been working in New York since 1997. He has produced covers and illustrations for publications such as The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone and Wired.

He is the man behind The New York Times' Abstract Sunday. He was the brave soul who decided to live-illustrate the New York City Marathon while running the 26.2 miles.

Niemann's prints can be purchased here.