The Endless Summer – Mark Ulriksen

The Story Behind

In his vibrant and whimsical cover for The New Yorker, dated August 3, 2015, artist Mark Ulriksen offers a playful escape from the heat and chaos of a New York summer. Titled "The Endless Summer," the illustration shows a carefree skateboarder launching above the city’s infamous traffic, catching air over yellow cabs and bumper-to-bumper gridlock.

Inspired by his own memories of skateboarding in San Francisco and the universal frustration of urban congestion, Ulriksen reimagines summer in the city as something weightless and free. There’s an undercurrent of satire, too — while the rest of New York sweats it out in dense, unmoving traffic, one figure soars, joyful and unbothered.

With its bold composition and warm colors, the cover captures not only the spirit of summer, but also the eternal dream of rising above the grind — even just for a moment.