Vogue Magazine

Issue No.1 December 17, 1892

I have always been interested in magazine covers. Though a full time painter I began my career after leaving art school as Assistant Art Director of the British edition of Harper's Bazaar, a magazine that addressed the same sort of content as Vogue.

Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine covering many topics including fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. Vogue began as a weekly newspaper in 1892 in the United States, before becoming a monthly publication years later.

The British Voguewas the first international edition launched in 1916, while the Italian version Vogue Italia has been called the top fashion magazine in the world.As of today, there are 23 international editions.

In 1892, Arthur Baldwin Turnure, an American businessman, founded Vogue as a weekly newspaper in the United States. From its inception, the magazine targeted the new New York upper class. The magazine at this time was primarily concerned with fashion, with coverage of sports and social affairs included for its male readership.

Condé Montrose Nast purchased Vogue in 1909 one year before Turnure's death, and gradually grew the publication. He changed it to a unisex magazine and started Vogue overseas in the 1910s. Under Nast, the magazine soon shifted its focus to women, and in turn the price was soon raised. The magazine’s number of publications and profit increased dramatically under Nast’s management. By 1911, the Vogue brand had garnered a reputation that it continues to maintain, targeting an elite audience and expanding into the coverage of weddings. According to Condé Nast Russia, after the First World War made deliveries in the Old World impossible, printing began in England. The decision to print in England proved to be successful causing Nast to release the first issue of French Vogue in 1920.

This is part 1 of a 12-part series on Vogue magazine:

1893 September 2
cover by Harry McVickar

1893 September 9
cover by Harry McVickar

1894 April 26
Three Costumes to be Avoided
illustration by Harry Mcvickar

1899 July 6
Bathing Suit Fashions
illustration by Harry McVickar

Harry McVickar (1860-1905) a contemporary of Charles Dana Gibson, was a prominent cartoonist and illustrator for many of the trendy magazines of the 19th century, such as Life and Harper’s, as well as a popular poster artist. McVickar also illustrated books and novels, such as Henry James’ Daisy Miller. Along with socialite, Arthur Baldwin Turnure, McVickar founded the new fashion publication, Vogue. He was the magazine’s first art director.

1901 April
Spring Fashions
cover by Charles Allan Gilbert
(The first colour cover)

1901 August 29 cover

1901 August 29

1901 October 3 cover

1901 October 3

1902 October 16

1902 October 23

1902 cover by Hamilton King
Spring Fashions

Hamilton King did the illustrations for these Coca-Cola metal trays:

1903 April 16
Spring Fashions
cover by Ethel Wright

Ethel Wright (1866-1939) was born in London, and studied art at the Académie Julianin Paris.Sheexhibited a total of 39 works at London's Royal Academy between 1888 and 1929. A portrait of the daughter of militant suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, Dame Christabel Pankhurst, was painted by Ethel Wright:

1909 (exhibited) Dame Christabel Pankhurst by Ethel Wright
oil on canvas 162.5 x 96.7 cm
National Portrait Gallery, London

1903 November 5
Winter Fashions

1903 December 3
Gifts Number

1904 February 18
Dress Specialities

1904 November 10
Winter Fashions

1905 2 February cover

1905 February 16
Spring Announcement

1905 April 13
Spring Fashions

1905 May 15
Outing Number

1905 July 15
illustration by Rene Bouet-Willaumez

1905 July 27

1906 February 22
Spring Announcement
cover by Boardman Robinson

Boardman Robinson (1876 -) the son of a sea captain, was born in Somerset, Nova Scotia, Canada. He spent his childhood in Wales but moved to the United States when he enrolled at the Massachusetts Art School in Boston. He also studied at the Académie Colarossi and the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

In 1910 Robinson was recruited by the New York Tribune to draw editorial cartoons. Over the next four years he developed a distinctive style by using black crayon with ink washes. Robinson was a strong supporter of woman suffrage and after Alice Paul and Lucy Burns formed the Congressional Union for Women Suffrage he contributed to the organization's magazine, The Suffragist.

1906 August 16
cover by William Bolin

1906 September 20
Autumn Announcement
cover by Hugh Stuart Campbell

1906 November 3

1906 November 29
Gifts Number

1906 November 8
Winter Fashions
cover by Henry Hutt

Henry Hutt (1875-1950) was born in Chicago. He became an illustrator credited with being highly influential in setting styles by "depicting the stylish, up-to-date female" of the early 20th century. In 1908, his publication, The Henry Hutt Picture Book, a volume of more than eighty of his illustrations, published by Century Company was a popular gift.

He sold his first illustration to LIFE magazine when he was age 16, and continued to have many magazine commissions.

1907 April 18
Spring Fashions

1907 May 23
Outing Number

1907 July 18 contents page

1907 August 8
cover by C.F. Freeman

1907 July 18
Midsummer Numbercover by G. Howard Hilder

Howard Hilder (1866-1935) born in London, England, Hilder studied art at theAcadémie Julianin Paris with Ferrier; also painting and etching in Holland.
He went to the U.S. in 1905 and built a successful career painting murals, stage settings, figures and landscapes in watercolour, oil and pastels.
Hilder painted the scenery for the Viking Pageant at the Newport Art Association in 1922; a series of murals of the life of Christ at St. Stephens Church in Coconut Grove, Florida; murals at the King Cole Hotel in Miami Beach and the Woman's Club in Miami; scenic paintings at Miami Senior High School; stage settings for the opening of the Anne Russell Theatre in Winter Park, Florida.

1907 November 19
Winter Fashions
cover by Stuart Travis

Stuart Travis (1868-1942) was an accomplished and prolific American artist, illustrator and designer who studied at Académie Julian in Paris, His works, mainly drawings and watercolours, appeared frequently in magazines, books, and advertising in the early twentieth century.

1907 December 5
Gifts Number

1908 February 20
Spring Announcement Number
cover by Will Foster

William (Will) Foster (1853-1924) was the second son of famous water-colourist and illustrator Myles Birket Foster, and the only child to become an artist. He was elected a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London in 1895. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Institute of Painters in Watercolours and the Society of British Artists.