Born on November 22, 1904, Miguel Covarrubias was a Mexican caricature artist, as well as an illustrator, painter and art historian. He began cartoon work right after graduating from Escuela Nacional Preparatoria when he was 14. At age 19, he traveled to New York on a grant and began drawing for several well known magazines. He ultimately became a top caricaturist for the magazine Vanity Fair.
He became enamored with the Harlem jazz scene in New York, and created a series of drawings of the people, music and culture, pointedly capturing the "spirit if the Harlem Renaissance. He met and married choreographer and dancer, Rosa Rolando, and they traveled extensively, but eventually returned to Mexico to live. He wrote the book Island of Bali after the couple's honeymoon there. They became friends with photographers Tina Modotti and Edward Weston as well as muralist Diego Rivera and painter Frida Kahlo.
In addition to illustration and cartooning, Covarrubias also worked in theater set and costume design, and painting. He painted a series of highly regarded murals for the Golden Gate International Exposition in the late '30s. He gained international fame and his work was shown in the US, Mexico and Europe. His style has been regarded extremely influential.
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