Direction Magazine

Direction Magazine (1935-1945) was a self-supporting, one-woman operation; Marguerite Tjader Harris was proprietor, publisher, and editor.

A sophisticated traveler, she was able to meet, befriend, and cajole distinguished personalities to write for her and support her ideas: Theodore Dreiser, Le Corbusier, Julius Meier Graefe, and many others were among those who provided material for the magazine — a politically oriented, anti-facist publication.

In 1938, at the age of 24, I was asked to do one of the covers on a pro-bono basis. Eventually, I was bartering my work for Le Corbusier’s watercolors. This turned out to be more than ample payment for my efforts.

These covers, beginning on page 55, were designed between 1938, the time of the invasion of Czechoslovakia, and the end of World War II. It was a time of turmoil not only on the world order but also in the world of art, with modernism on the upswing.

The designers reflect the influence of the isms, and they are also concurrent visualizations of war, upheaval, and ultimate victory.

In one of the early issues, Le Corbusier’s When the Cathedrals Were White appeared for the first time in the English language.

There were many articles of a similarly pioneering nature dealing with artistic, social and political issues by critics, cartoonists, artists, and writers of great distinction around the world.

William Gropper, the American social satirist, was featured in many of its pages.

It takes more than luck, good ideas, and goodwill to accomplish meaningful—let along distinguished—work. A receptive and intuitive patron, who understands the ways and wiles of the creative creature, is indispensable; Maggie Harris was certainly that.