Arthur Getz
American painter and illustrator (1913–1996)
Arthur Kimmig Getz (May 17, 1913 – January 19, 1996) was an American illustrator best known for his fifty-year career as a cover artist for The New Yorker magazine. Between 1938 and 1988, two hundred and thirteen Getz covers appeared on The New Yorker, making Getz the most prolific New Yorker cover artist of the twentieth century. Getz was also a fine artist, painted murals for the Works Progress Administration Program, wrote and illustrated children's books, and taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, the University of Connecticut, and the Washington Art Association in Washington, Connecticut. In addition to his New Yorker covers and spot drawings, Getz's illustrations were published in American Childhood, Audubon, Collier's, Consumer Reports, Cue, Esquire, Fortune, The Nation, The National Guardian, The New Masses, The New Republic, PM, Reader's Digest, Saturday Review, Stage, and The Reporter.
Early years
Arthur Getz was born in Passaic, New Jersey, the son of Madeline Kimmig Getz and Anthony Getz. He attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, on a full scholarship, and graduated with honors in 1934 from Pratt's School of Fine and Applied Art. His very first cover illustration for The New Yorker was printed on July 23, 1938.
Murals
In 1939, Philip Guston taught Getz how to mix casein tempera, a milk-based pigment utilized for mural painting, and suggested that Getz apply for a New Deal mural contract. Over the next four years, Getz won four mural contracts:
1939: Post Office, Lancaster, New York
1939: Textile Building, 1939 New York World's Fair
1941: Post Office, Bronson, Michigan
1942: Post Office, Luverne, Alabama
The New Yorker
After serving in the Philippines during World War II as a First Lieutenant of Field Artillery, Getz returned to New York City and resumed his work as an artist, soon becoming one of the more regular contributors to The New Yorker. During the 1950s and 1960s it was not unusual for more than one Getz cover to be printed on The New Yorker during a single month.
The public source identifies “Arthur Getz” as american painter and illustrator (1913–1996). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Arthur, Getz and American.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Arthur Getz”, the useful work is to connect “american painter and illustrator (1913–1996)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16013623. VIAF identifies the subject as 70211080. The Library of Congress control number is n79106118. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1913, 1996, 1938 and 1988.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Arthur Getz”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Arthur Getz primary sources, Arthur Getz archive and Arthur research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Arthur Getz”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Arthur Getz” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.