From the Managing Editor

By Henry Muller

You may not immediately identify the name Richard Hess, but you will recognize his work. Since 1977 Dick has painted 14 covers for the magazine. Among the best known are his portrait of Deng Xiaoping, who was our Man of the Year in 1979, and his gatefold showing a cross section of Americans for our 1987 special issue on the 200th anniversary of the Constitution. A native of Royal Oak, Mich., Dick attended the University of Michigan and, improbably, began his career working for a company that manufactured paint-by-number sets. After many years as a graphic designer and an art director for major advertising firms, he returned to illustration in 1971, working out of his Connecticut home. Last week Dick died of complications from septic shock syndrome at the age of 57.

Dick was a warm, outgoing man and natural teacher who occasionally used friends and family as models for TIME covers. For the Constitution cover he included several neighbors in Roxbury, Conn., as well as his son Mark (who appeared as a policeman) and TIME art director Rudy Hoglund (a handcuffed miscreant). Even the artist made a rare guest appearance in the portrait (as a pioneer in a coonskin hat). "He felt that when people saw his work they were looking at his soul," says Mark, who himself has painted 14 covers for TIME. Hoglund fondly recalls many long visits with Dick at his Connecticut farm. "He always welcomed me with 'Hello, friend' -- a wonderful greeting," he says. Which may be why it is now so hard for so many of us to say goodbye.