John Cuneo

John Cuneo (born January 4, 1957) is an American illustrator whose work has appeared in publications, including The New Yorker, Esquire, Sports Illustrated and The Atlantic Monthly. His ink and watercolor drawings have been described as covering everything from politics to sex.

Early life and education Cuneo grew up in Westfield, New Jersey. His father worked as a manager at a plant nursery and his mother as a house wife. He was the oldest of three boys. He and his two brothers worked at the nursery with his father and take home produce to sell at a stand on their front lawn.

At Colorado Institute for Art, Cuneo learned graphic design business skills, including paste-ups with wax, making storyboards, and rendering typefaces. Bill Kastan, a local illustrator as well as an instructor at the school, befriended Cuneo and provided him with a drawing table in his studio and helped him put together a portfolio. It was also in Denver where Cuneo met his wife Jan Larson. and to illustrate the magazine's sex advice column, Work on the sex column for Esquire led to two silver awards for Cuneo from the Society of Illustrators. His second cover for The New Yorker, "Dog Meets Dog", which ran on the June 27, 2011 issue and art directed by Francoise Mouly, won the Hamilton King Award in 2012. Cuneo's August 5, 2013 New Yorker cover featured Anthony Weiner straddling the top of the Empire State Building. That cover led to a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators. In total, , Cuneo has created ten covers for the New Yorker.

In 2010, Cuneo joined Golf Digest at the Masters Tournament to draw on location and record his impressions of the event. He is a regular contributor to Golf Digest.

Books In 2004, Steven Guarnaccia, who was head of the illustration department at Parsons, recommended Cuneo's sketchbooks to Fantagraphics. Editor Eric Reynolds got in touch to discuss compiling some of the sketchbook work into a book. Robert Festino, who Cuneo had worked with at Entertainment Weekly, put together a dummy of a book during his off-hours at the Entertainment Weekly offices. The mockup was sent to Fantagraphics and co-publisher Kim Thompson went ahead with plans to publish nEuROTIC. The cover illustration chosen for the book had previously won a gold medal from the Society of Illustrators, and the book was released in 2007, designed and art directed by Robert Festino.

Ten years after nEuROTIC, Gary Groth, publisher at Fantagraphics, suggested a sequel to Cuneo. While nEuRoTIC had been drawn almost entirely using a Rapidograph, the pieces in the new collection for Not Waving But Drawing were created using a Uni-ball roller pen or a Micron pen. The book was released in 2017.

In 2017, Cuneo illustrated the book Who Is Rich?, authored by Matthew Klam, published By Random House.

Fantagraphics published Cuneo's third collection of sketchbook drawings in 2021. Coping Skills was described by New Yorker art editor Françoise Mouly as "scabrous and depraved" in nature.

Group exhibitions State of the Art:Illustration 100 Years After Howard Pyle, Delaware Art Museum, 2013

Awards Society of illustrators

Silver Medal for uncommissioned work FU, Society of Illustrators, 2016 Silver Medal for New Yorker cover, Winter Delight, art directed by Francois Mouly, 2016 Gold Medal for uncommissioned category titled Killed Sex Sketches, 2015 Silver Medal for New Yorker cover, 'Carlos Danger', art directed by Franciose Mouly, 2014 Silver Medal for Town and Country magazine article, Erotic Art, art directed by Edward Leida, 2013 Silver Medal for a drawing titled Julip in the Good Dog column in Garden & Gun magazine, art directed by Marshall McKinney, 2012 Hamilton King Award, for New Yorker cover, Dog Meets Dog. art directed by Francoise Mouly, 2012 Silver Medal, Society of Illustrators, 2010 Silver Medal for Frog Calendar (Poster), Dellas Graphics, art directed by Jim Burke, 2006 Silver Medal for Esquire magazine's sex advice column, Is Al Green Good for your Sex Life?, art directed by John Korpics, 2006 Gold Medal for an uncommissioned piece which subsequently became the cover for nEuROTIC, designer Robert Festino, 2004 Silver Medal for Esquire magazine's sex advice column, art directed by John Korpics, 2004

Society of Illustrators, San Francisco

Gold Medal, 1995 Judge's Appreciation, 1995 Best of Show, 1995 Silver Medal for Golf Illustrated Magazine, art directed by Bobbi Laberge, 1993 Judge's Choice for Motorland Magazine, art director by Al Davidson, 1993 Honorable Mention Humor Award, 1992 Silver Humor Award, 1991 Gold Humor Award, 1990

Others Award of Excellence, for The New York Times Book Review, Intoxicating Prose, art directed by Nicholas Blechman, Communication Arts Illustration Annual, 2014

Personal life The artist lives in Woodstock, New York, with his wife Jan. The couple have one son, Jack Cuneo.