Covarrubias, Miguel (1904-1957) , Mexican painter and illustrator, born in Mexico City. In 1923 Covarrubias went to New York City on a scholarship from the Mexican government. He soon achieved success as a stage designer, contributor of drawings and caricatures to such magazines as Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, and creator of the books The Prince of Wales and Other Famous Americans (1925) and Negro Drawings (1927). Also an ethnologist, Covarrubias traveled in the Orient in the 1930s. He wrote and illustrated Island of Bali (1937) as well as a number of works on the art and life of the Native Americans of North America, particularly those of Mexico.