The Dark Shore: Bob Staake’s Iconic Hurricane Sandy New Yorker Cover

This striking, moody image is the cover for The New Yorker magazine, dated November 19, 2012. Titled "The Dark Shore," the artwork by illustrator Bob Staake immediately became one of the most memorable visual summaries of a profound moment in New York City history: the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

A City Plunged into Darkness
Hurricane Sandy slammed into the Northeast in late October 2012, causing catastrophic flooding and plunging vast swaths of Lower Manhattan into a total blackout. The contrast captured in Staake's painting is incredibly powerful and symbolic.
The bottom half of the canvas shows the dense urban landscape completely blacked out, with only sparse, distant lights. It is a terrifying depiction of a major global city gone dark. The turbulent, heavily textured night sky and deep blue tones reflect the emotional turmoil and fear following the disaster.

The Empire State as a Beacon
Dominating the image is the Empire State Building, rising above the darkness. Crucially, the tower itself is brightly illuminated. Because the Empire State Building and other key landmarks often operate on separate power grids, this illuminated structure stood as a literal beacon for the thousands of residents and business owners living in the powerless zone below.
Staake’s illustration brilliantly distills this complex event into a single, emotional image. The brightly lit spire represents the enduring resilience of New York City—a beacon of hope, stability, and the eventual certainty that the lights would come back on.
This cover is not merely a periodical advertisement; it’s an emotional time capsule that captures the unique blend of darkness and hope that defined the city’s post-storm recovery. Framing this piece offers a compelling reminder of the city's strength in the face of adversity.