The First Mother Jones Cover, Illustrated by Dugald Stermer

In a recent interview on the SPD site, Mother Jones creative director Tim J Luddy referenced the first cover of the magazine, in 1976, as an influence on his current work. We asked Luddy for a copy of that cover, illustrated by Dugald Stermer, and he responded with that one and two more from Mother Jones's first year of publishing. Here's what Luddy has to say about them:

Tim J Luddy: Dugald Stermer, who was listed as a consultant on the Mother Jones masthead through the August 1976 issue of the magazine, illustrated three of our covers that year. The February/March 1976 issue, our first, featured a racially-integrated version of the Archibald M. Willard painting, "Spirit of '76." He got all Renaissance on us for our "June MCMLXXVI" issue, for a story on "The New Conservatives." This cover was based on a portrait of Count Tommaso Inghirami by Raphael. And to illustrate our July 1976 story, which was critical of Jerry Brown's new politics, Stermer painted a portrait of Brown on canvas and slashed open its center, revealing a portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower behind it. The styles of these three covers, and even the signatures on each one, show a remarkable stylistic range. Regarding that, Stermer says, "Obviously I was still trying to find myself as an illustrator, after long careers as a graphic designer and magazine editor/art director." Mother Jones's art director at this time was Louise Kollenbaum.

Read 3 Questions with Tim J. Luddy of Mother Jones here.