George Lois Covers at MoMA

Next Friday, New York’s Museum of Modern Art will open “George Lois: The Esquire Covers,” a year-long exhibit honoring the storied magazine’s legendary art director.

The gallery will feature 32 of the 92 covers Lois created for Esquire between 1962 and 1972, including perhaps his two most iconic: Muhammad Ali as the Christian martyr St. Sebastian and Andy Warhol being consumed by a can of Campbell’s soup (above).

Though it’s no doubt a noble gesture to celebrate Lois’s career, displaying covers in a museum can’t possibly please the holders-on who insist that print magazines aren’t becoming a thing of the past.

UPDATE: You might remember that we consider Esquire during the Harold Hayes era, which featured many a Lois cover, to be the best magazine of all time. Read about it and 50 slightly lesser titles in this piece from Issue 003.