December 9, 1985

Iris Van Rynbach is an artist whose New Yorker covers were prominent in the 1980s. An article in the Hartford Courant, once her local newspaper, describes her career as an:

...[I]llustrator and writer of books for children.... Iris painted covers for The New Yorker for almost 15 years. The covers were always of buildings in New York, and they always looked welcoming.....

After majoring in illustration at the Parsons School of Design, Iris spent a year in France at Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and then another year at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. She graduated into the life of a free-lance illustrator, working for The New York Times and Gourmet magazine, among many others. Art director Lee Lorenz at The New Yorker bought some ``spot'' drawings for inside the magazine, and asked her to submit cover ideas. William Shawn, the magazine's legendary editor for 54 years, saw her painting of The Dakota and her career at The New Yorker was launched.

She and her husband, Courant photographer Michael McAndrews, bought a Victorian in Frog Hollow and fixed it up, later moving to Glastonbury when they started a family.

Her website, www.irisvanrynbach.com, includes interesting additional details about this artist:

.....Her 14th Children's Book book, The Taxing Case of the Cows, was published in 2010. Iris Van Rynbach's illustrations have graced the cover of The New Yorker magazine numerous times. She was a regular contributor to that magazine for twelve years. Currently Ms. Van Rynbach is illustrating and writing for the new award-winning NYC magazine Vintage. She also writes and illustrates for The Hartford Courant, [and]... teaches in her studio, at The Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts.... 
Ms. Van Rynbach currently lives in Glastonbury, Connecticut [where her family includes]...two cats. ...[And]  two grown daughters, one an equine vet, and the other a NYC magazine food editor. Ms. Van Rynbach has been a tour leader for many cultural and painting trips to France, Italy, and England. She visits France as often as she can.

We have a thumbnail of her New Yorker cover dated December 9, 1985.

And you can see all her covers at this wonderful website: https://thenewyorkercovers.wordpress.com/category/iris-van-rynbach/

where the covers are larger than I feel comfortable copying.