For the past 100 years, The New Yorker has chronicled the nuances of New York City life with wit, satire, and an unmistakable artistic style. In celebration of the magazine’s centennial, the New York Transit Museum is organizing “Commentary on the Commute: A Century of The New Yorker’s Transportation Cartoons,” opening Wednesday, March 26th, at the Museum’s Grand Central Gallery & Store.
Showcasing work from 57 artists, the exhibit highlights the humor, challenges, and peculiarities of public transportation through the lens of some of the most iconic cartoonists of the past century.
Since its founding in 1925 by Harold Ross and Jane Grant, The New Yorker has set a standard for literary journalism, criticism, fiction, and poetry. But just as significantly, the magazine has cultivated a legacy in another art form: the single-panel gag cartoon.
These carefully crafted illustrations have graced its pages for a century, capturing the zeitgeist, providing sharp social commentary, and giving a knowing wink to city dwellers navigating the daily grind.
Among the highlights are works featuring The New Yorker’s dapper mascot, Eustace Tilley, in subway settings, alongside illustrations by legendary cartoonists such as Saul Steinberg, Roz Chast, Peter Arno, and more. Covers depict transit milestones from the heyday of elevated railways to the modern MTA, poke fun at commuters, and illustrate the unspoken rules of transit etiquette.
The exhibition opens to the public on Wednesday, March 26th at the New York Transit Museum’s Grand Central Gallery & Store. Admission is free year-round.The exhibition will close on October 26, 2025.
The gallery is open Monday through Friday, from 10 am until 7:30 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm; and is closed on major holidays. It is located in the shuttle passage on 42nd Street and Park Avenue, adjacent to the Station Master’s Office. For more information on hours and directions, visit nytransitmuseum.org/visit.
The New York Transit Museum is the largest museum in the United States devoted to urban public transportation history. Since its inception over forty years ago, the Museum – which is housed in a historic 1936 IND subway station in Downtown Brooklyn – has grown in scope and popularity.
For nearly 25 years, the Transit Museum has also operated a Gallery & Store in Grand Central Terminal.
Illustration provided.
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