Photographs

A portrait view of Condé Montrose Nast, sitting on a bench wearing a suit and hat.

Condé Montrose Nast, the preacher’s grandson from Missouri who founded Condé Nast Publications in 1909. (Everett / Shutterstock)

Frank Crowninshield standing in the foreground, dressed in a suit. In the background, a Jazz Age woman sitting, wearing an elegant gown.

Frank Crowninshield (and friend), the dapper Jazz Age editor of Vanity Fair. (George Karger / The Chronicle Collection / Getty Images)

A vintage Vogue magazine cover from April 1, 1918, showcasing an elegant woman wearing a sleek black gown, riding a majestic white peacock.

An Art Deco-style illustration of a woman strolling through a forest, walking a white dog, in the October 1926 cover of Vanity Fair.

An Art Deco-style illustration from Vogue depicting a woman in an elegant white gown sitting gracefully on a crescent moon.

An Art Deco-style illustration of a woman in a sleek black dress, holding a delicate birdcage, in the July 1916 cover of Vanity Fair.

(Zine Artz / Alamy Stock Photo; Retro AdArchives / Alamy Stock Photo; Zine Artz / Alamy Stock Photo; Heritage Image Partnership Ltd. / Alamy Stock Photo)

Samuel I. Newhouse Sr., dressed in a sharp suit, sitting at a desk in a formal, well-appointed room.

Samuel I. Newhouse Sr., born Solomon Neuhaus in a tenement building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He built a newspaper empire and purchased Condé Nast in 1959, eight years before this photo was taken. (Jack Manning / The New York Times / Redux)

A portrait of Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr. in his Air Force uniform.

Samuel Irving (“Si”) Newhouse Jr., in his Air Force uniform in an undated photograph. (Courtesy of Jane Marks)

Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr. and his wife, Jane Franke, sitting closely together at a table, gazing at each other with warm smiles.

Si and his first wife, Jane Franke, in a booth at El Morocco, one of the Manhattan nightlife hotspots that they frequented together in the 1950s. (Courtesy of Pamela Mensch)

Mitzi Newhouse, Si’s status-conscious mother, standing beside Sam on a cobblestone path outdoors.

Mitzi Newhouse, Si’s status-conscious mother, who adored couture and the arts, with Sam on vacation in Acapulco in 1968. (William E. Sauro / The New York Times / Redux)

A vintage Christmas card featuring photographs of Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr. and his wife Jane Franke. The photo on the right has the couple sitting together on a chair and the photo on the left has Jane sitting on a coffee table. The text “To Mommie + Father. Merry Christmas. Love, Si + Jane” is seen around the photographs.

Si and Jane’s holiday card in the mid-1950s. Copies of Vogue can be seen stacked on the coffee table. (Courtesy of Jane Marks)

Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr. sitting on a sofa in a modern living room while another man, Pedro, dressed in a white jacket, serves him a drink.

Si Newhouse, bachelor at rest, as pictured in the April 6, 1966, issue of The New York Times. His “houseboy” Pedro (“one of the great luxuries of the world,” according to Si) is pouring his tea. (Don Hogan Charles / The New York Times / Redux)

Diana Vreeland sitting at a desk in a busy office, surrounded by a team selecting designs and garments.

Diana Vreeland, the editor in chief of Vogue from 1963 to 1971, seen in the magazine’s offices in the Graybar Building by Grand Central Terminal, selecting designs and garments for an upcoming issue. Photographed on May 1, 1963. (Ben Martin / Archive Photos / Getty Images)

Alexander Liberman, dressed in a suit, standing in front of a large abstract metal sculpture on a grassy hill.

Alexander Liberman, for more than thirty years the editorial director and all-powerful creative force of Condé Nast, at the dedication of his sculpture, The Way, at a park near St. Louis in May 1980. “I believe that money should be used to facilitate a creative life and to eliminate fatigue,” he once said. “I take taxis all the time; I find them restful and stimulating.” (Bettmann / Getty Images)

Anna Wintour, wearing an elegant fur-trimmed coat and matching hat, descending a staircase at a formal event, smiling gracefully.

Two British editors entered the Condé Nast orbit in 1983 and came to define its new era of power and cultural influence. Anna Wintour on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York after a Costume Institute event in December 1989. (© Dafydd Jones)

Tina Brown, wearing a sheer black dress, raising one hand with visible excitement at a formal event.

Tina Brown at Vanity Fair’s Phoenix House benefit in Los Angeles, March 1990. (© Dafydd Jones)

Tina Brown, dressed in formal attire, sitting for an interview in a room adorned with a wall of magazine covers behind her.

Tina being interviewed by 60 Minutes at the Vanity Fair offices, 350 Madison Avenue, in 1990. (© Dafydd Jones)

A mannequin showing Tina Brown dressed in an outfit comprised of pieces of newspaper clippings, stands between tall magazine stacks amid New Yorker-themed decor.

A few months after Tina took over The New Yorker in 1992, Simon Doonan included this papier-mâché version of her in a Barneys holiday window that paid tribute to the magazine. A featured quote: “Every so often you have to bite the hand that reads you.” (Jim Lorelli / WWD / Penske Media / Getty Images)

William Shawn, wearing glasses and a light-colored blazer, standing quietly in a doorway, while another man appears in the background.

William Shawn’s successor and Tina’s predecessor, the cerebral Robert Gottlieb, at a party at Mortimer’s in 1983. (Tony Palmieri / WWD / Penske Media / Getty Images)

David Remnick, dressed in a suit, standing in front of a vibrant wall filled with colorful New Yorker magazine covers.

David Remnick, who succeeded Tina in 1998, photographed in the New Yorker offices in 2000. (Robin London / Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

Graydon Carter, with his signature gray hair, wearing yellow sunglasses, a black suit, and a tie, smiling warmly at an event.

Graydon Carter introduced the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 1994. The soiree quickly became the hottest ticket in Hollywood and one of the most famous parties in the world. Here, Graydon looks dapper on the red carpet in 2000. (Ron Galella / Ron Galella Collection / Getty Images)

Graydon Carter joyfully dancing with Madonna at a lively event, both caught mid-boogie, while a live band performing in the background.

Graydon boogeying with Madonna at the 1999 party at Morton’s restaurant. (© Dafydd Jones)

Donald Newhouse and Si Newhouse, dressed in formal attire, smile and engage warmly at an outdoor event, surrounded by palm trees and a lively crowd in the background.

Donald Newhouse and Si Newhouse greet guests at the 1997 party. (© Dafydd Jones)

A satirical board game titled “Nasty” humorously depicts Condé Nast’s publishing world with caricatures, witty scenarios, and text-filled spaces highlighting industry quirks.

Condé Nast: The Board Game, as imagined by the New Yorker cartoonist Michael Crawford in 1996.

Crawford, an astute chronicler of manners, distributed copies of this homemade, madcap Monopoly-style board to friends and coworkers. The game is a wry encapsulation of the folkways and idiosyncrasies of Condé Nast at its 1990s peak. Among the illustrations are a sketch of Steve Florio’s sailboat, a Big Apple Car voucher, and Si’s beloved pug, Nero. The restaurant at the Royalton Hotel, “44,” is cited in several squares; known as the Condé canteen, it was where top editors held court from dedicated banquettes.

Crawford died in 2016. I am grateful to his children, Farley and Miles, for tracking down this piece in his archives. (@michaelcrawfordart, courtesy of Farley Crawford Bliss and Miles Crawford)

Donald J. Trump, dressed in a tuxedo, speaking into a microphone at an event, his wife Ivana and another man standing nearby.

Donald J. Trump at the 1987 book release party at Trump Tower for The Art of the Deal, with his wife, Ivana, and the man who hatched the idea for the book, Si Newhouse. (Ron Galella / Ron Galella Collection / Getty Images)

Donald J. Trump and Anna Wintour sitting together, engaged in conversation amid a surrounding crowd.

Trump in conversation with Anna Wintour in the front row of a fashion show at the Plaza Hotel in 1995. (David Turner / WWD / Penske Media / Getty Images)

Annie Leibovitz, standing next to a framed illustration of a pregnant Demi Moore posing nude, covering her chest and pelvic area with her hands.

Annie Leibovitz, whose dramatic portraiture helped define the look of the revived Vanity Fair, poses in 2009 in front of her famed photograph of a nude and pregnant Demi Moore, which caused a national sensation when it ran on the cover of VF’s August 1991 issue. (Sean Gallup / Getty Images)

Three newspapers display the Vanity Fair cover featuring the headline Call Me Caitlyn alongside an image of Caitlyn Jenner dressed in a white outfit.

Twenty-four years later, Leibovitz made headlines again with her photographs of Caitlyn Jenner, which made the front page of newspapers around the country (three examples, above) and prompted a statement from the Obama White House. (Richard Levine / Alamy Stock Photo)

André Leon Talley, wearing a mesh shirt and a patterned bandana stands outdoors, looking at the camera.

André Leon Talley, who would go on to become creative director and editor at large at Vogue under Anna, at the Fire Island Pines on August 9, 1976. (Pierre Schermann / WWD / Penske Media / Getty Images)

Candace Bushnell embraces Ron Galotti from behind, both smiling and wearing sunglasses.

Ron Galotti, the hard-charging publisher, and his then-girlfriend, Sex and the City writer Candace Bushnell, at the Bridgehampton Polo Club in August 1995. Galotti was the inspiration for Bushnell’s character Mr. Big. (© Dafydd Jones)

Estella Warren kisses Arthur Cooper on the cheek as they pose together at an event.

Arthur Cooper, longtime editor in chief of GQ, and Estella Warren at a GQ party, April 2000. (Patrick McMullan / Getty Images)

Steve Florio, Anna Wintour, and James Truman sitting closely together in a crowded audience.

Steve Florio, Anna Wintour, and James Truman, who succeeded Alex Liberman as editorial director in 1994, at a mid-nineties fashion show in New York. (Catherine McGann / Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

Graydon and Anna sit amid a group at a dinner table, engaged in lively conversation, surrounded by floral centerpieces and drinks.

The interior decor of the Condé Nast cafeteria featuring a modern dining area with curved, blue-hued titanium walls, sleek seating, and vibrant yellow tables.

Frank Gehry’s celebrated Condé Nast cafeteria in 4 Times Square. The sinuous, blue-hued titanium folds were inspired by a Bellini painting of Jesus. (Michael Appleton / The New York Times / Redux)

Oprah Winfrey, wearing a black dress, smiles and gestures warmly in front of a large Vogue magazine cover featuring her portrait.

Oprah Winfrey at a party at Balthazar celebrating her October 1998 cover of Vogue. The issue became a massive bestseller. (Richard Corkery / NY Daily News Archive / Getty Images)

Louis Menchicchi, wearing sunglasses and a black cap with a cigar in his mouth, standing in front of the Condé Nast Building, holding a phone.

Louis “Red” Menchicchi, the cigar-smoking Staten Islander who directed black car and limousine traffic outside of 4 Times Square. (Don Hogan Charles / The New York Times / Redux)

Protesters gather in an urban setting, holding signs including one that reads Condé Nasty, voicing their demands during a lively demonstration.

Members of the Condé Nast union demonstrate on a picket line outside 1 World Trade Center, January 2024. (Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images)

An elephant stands inside an office cubicle with its trunk and one leg raised, startling a man seated at his desk

A live elephant was rented at exorbitant cost to create this 2008 image for Portfolio magazine. (Phillip Toledano / Trunk Archive)

President Joe Biden kissing a smiling Anna Wintour wearing the Presidential Medal of Freedom, while another man observes in the background.

Anna Wintour receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from then-president Joe Biden at the White House, January 4, 2025. (Chris Kleponis / AFP / Getty Images)