February 12, 2021
By Illustration Age Staff
Main Facts: The Secrecy, the Stakes, and the Subject
Every December, the publishing world holds its collective breath as TIME magazine prepares to unveil its annual Person of the Year issue. Steeped in journalistic intrigue, high-stakes drama, and tightly guarded secrecy, the franchise has long served as a cultural touchstone.
Behind the iconic covers lies a rigorous, clandestine process. Long before the final honoree is selected and the issue hits newsstands or digital inboxes, TIME’s editorial staff commissions a diverse roster of elite artists, illustrators, and photographers. These creators are tasked with depicting a wide spectrum of potential candidates, ensuring that the magazine is ready to print regardless of which way the final decision goes.
For the artists involved, the assignment is a masterclass in professional suspense. The exact choice of who will ultimately grace the cover is almost never revealed to the hired creatives until the magazine is officially rolled out to the public.
For the monumental Person of the Year feature honoring Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, that coveted assignment fell to Chicago-based satirical illustrator and portrait artist Jason Seiler. Marking Seiler’s second time capturing a TIME Person of the Year cover, the milestone offered a rare window into the intersection of high-stakes political journalism and world-class caricature art. In a wide-ranging interview with Sam Gallant of Illustration Age, Seiler pulled back the curtain on the intense creative process of painting high-profile political figures, balancing professional demands, and his unexpected passion for drumming.
Chronology: From Secret Commissions to the Unveiling
The journey to a TIME magazine cover is rarely a straight line; rather, it is a pressurized sprint executed under strict confidentiality agreements.
Phase 1: The Call to Action
Weeks before the public announcement of the Person of the Year, TIME’s art directors reach out to a select group of trusted artists. When the call came for Jason Seiler, the parameters were clear: he needed to prepare comprehensive illustrations of multiple frontrunners. Because the editorial board deliberates right up until the final hour, artists often spend days pouring over reference photos, sketching compositions, and finalizing digital paintings without knowing whether their work will ever see the light of day—let alone grace the most famous magazine cover in the world.
Phase 2: The Iteration and Execution
For this particular cycle, the focus centered on the incoming administration of Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Seiler, known for his ability to amplify the personality and distinct facial features of his subjects while maintaining a respectful, dignified tone, began the rigorous drafting process. Working digitally, he layered textures, adjusted lighting, and refined likenesses through countless iterations, communicating securely with TIME’s art department to hit the precise visual tone the magazine required.
Phase 3: The Global Release
The climax of the process occurs on launch day. Like the rest of the world, artists often learn which of their drafts was chosen only when the final digital edition drops or when physical copies arrive at newsstands. For Seiler, seeing his striking, textured portrait of Biden and Harris selected for the cover cemented another high-water mark in an already illustrious career that has seen his work featured everywhere from The New York Times and Rolling Stone to various Hollywood studios.
Supporting Data: The Anatomy of a TIME Cover
To understand the weight of Jason Seiler’s achievement, one must examine the metrics and history of TIME’s Person of the Year franchise and the evolution of political illustration.
- Historical Significance: Established in 1927 (originally as "Man of the Year"), the franchise highlights the person, group, or concept that "most influenced the news and our lives, for better or worse."
- The Shift to Illustration: While photography frequently dominates magazine covers, TIME has a storied tradition of commissioning fine art and illustration for its most critical editions, offering a heightened, interpretive lens that photography sometimes cannot capture.
- Jason Seiler’s Pedigree: Based in Chicago, Seiler is a self-taught digital painter and illustrator whose distinctive style bridges classical portraiture with dynamic caricature. His previous TIME Person of the Year cover work includes high-profile political and cultural figures, establishing him as a go-to artist for monumental editorial commissions.
- Media Integration: Modern cover rollouts are no longer confined to print. They are supported by motion graphics, time-lapse videos of the creation process, and in-depth multimedia interviews—such as the Illustration Age video feature—allowing audiences to witness the artistic evolution from blank canvas to finished masterpiece.
Official Responses and Insights from the Artist
In his conversation with Sam Gallant on Illustration Age, Jason Seiler offered deep insights into the psychological and technical hurdles of painting leaders who occupy the global stage.
"When you’re drawing a sitting president or a vice president, the margin for error is razor-thin," Seiler explained during the interview. Unlike traditional fine art, where total creative liberty reigns, editorial illustration must balance the artist’s unique voice with immediate public recognition and journalistic integrity. The likeness must be undeniable, yet the art must transcend a mere tracing of a photograph, offering emotional and psychological depth.
Seiler also discussed the collaborative nature of working with TIME. Far from working in an isolated vacuum, artists engage in a tight feedback loop with art directors who navigate the fast-paced demands of a global news cycle.
Beyond the high-pressure world of political portraiture, the interview revealed a lighter, more rhythmic side to the artist. Seiler spoke candidly about his lifelong love for drumming—a creative outlet that provides a visceral, physical balance to the sedentary, meticulous hours spent hunched over a digital drawing tablet. Whether keeping beat behind a drum kit or rendering the face of the leader of the free world, Seiler emphasized that rhythm, timing, and discipline remain the bedrock of all his creative endeavors.
Implications: The Future of Political Illustration in a Digital Era
The successful collaboration between TIME magazine and Jason Seiler for the Biden/Harris Person of the Year cover underscores broader trends in contemporary media and visual arts.
1. The Enduring Power of the Human Hand
In an era increasingly dominated by automated processes, rapid algorithmic generation, and stock photography, commissioned illustrations offer something irreplaceable: a distinct human point of view. Seiler’s work proves that hand-crafted digital painting—infused with style, exaggeration, and acute observation—cuts through the visual noise of the modern media landscape in a way standard photographs often fail to do.
2. Elevating the Status of Illustrators
Platforms like Illustration Age play a crucial role in documenting the realities of the commercial art industry. By pulling back the curtain on how legendary covers are made, these profiles humanize the creators behind the global news cycle. They elevate illustrators from anonymous contractors to vital cultural commentators whose interpretations help shape how history is recorded.
3. The Synergy of Multimedia Journalism
The multi-platform rollout of Seiler’s work—spanning print, web galleries, and behind-the-scenes video interviews—demonstrates how modern journalism maximizes the impact of visual art. Audiences no longer just consume a cover image; they demand to understand the narrative behind it. By engaging with creators through deep-dive interviews, the art community fosters greater appreciation for the immense skill, patience, and professional discipline required to capture history in real time.
As political landscapes continue to shift and media formats evolve, artists like Jason Seiler ensure that the grand tradition of editorial illustration remains vibrant, vital, and unmistakably human.
