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About the project
Each week on Saturday Night Live, longtime staff photographer Mary Ellen Matthews brings her signature creativity to life through the show’s iconic “bumpers”—the portrait interludes featuring hosts or musical guests that bridge segments to and from commercial breaks. These distinctive images are now gathered for the first time in The Art of the SNL Portrait, a newly released monograph by Abrams celebrating the show’s 50th anniversary.
The bumper has become a defining element of SNL, as recognizable as the phrase “Live from New York!” or the opening monologue. Over the past twenty years, Matthews—following in the footsteps of her mentor and predecessor Edie Baskin—has continually reimagined this format. Drawing inspiration from art history and popular culture, she creates portraits that balance humor, intelligence, and visual sophistication. Memorable examples include Steve Carell as Andy Warhol, Megan Thee Stallion towering over New York, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson embracing a literal rock, Dave Chappelle lounging with multiple versions of himself, Jennifer Lopez in glamorous form, and five Larry Davids attempting to change a lightbulb.
The book’s design was led by Pentagram’s Emily Oberman and her team, developed through close collaboration with Matthews and editor Alison Castle. Oberman had previously partnered with Matthews on SNL title sequences and with Castle on the design of Saturday Night Live: The Book for Taschen.
To curate the final selection, the team reviewed nearly 4,000 images from Matthews’ archive, ultimately choosing more than 200 for inclusion. With such a wealth of material, shaping a cohesive narrative flow became a central challenge. The book uses a lay-flat binding, allowing many images to appear full-bleed and scaled to match the proportions of a television screen—honoring how the bumpers were originally intended to be seen.
While the SNL logo appears in some of the images, it is intentionally omitted in others, echoing their original presentation on the show. To preserve the visual impact, the portraits are displayed without captions; instead, identifying details are provided in a reference section at the back, alongside Matthews’ behind-the-scenes insights into many of the shoots.
The endpapers recreate the bulletin board in the office of SNL creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels, where favorite bumper images have accumulated over time. Michaels also contributes the book’s foreword. The sequence of images is interspersed with sections exploring Matthews’ creative process in depth, including a conversation with Alison Castle, a case study with comedian John Mulaney discussing the experience of a photoshoot, and a look at the “SNL at Home” bumpers produced during the pandemic, featuring still lifes from Matthews’ apartment and appearances by her dog, Daphne.
Known for their vivid, high-energy color, Matthews’ photographs are designed to stand out on screen. Translating this intensity from RGB for broadcast into print required extensive proofing to ensure each image retained its vibrancy and precision.
Matthews has described her approach as creating an atmosphere that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and this playful spirit is reflected in the book’s cover. The front features Andy Samberg dressed as an olive inside a giant martini glass, while the back shows Scarlett Johansson enjoying a martini.
The title is rendered in neon yellow typography, enhanced with a fluorescent spot PMS ink that mimics an RGB glow, set against a holographic foil background. Inside, the text is typeset in Headline Gothic, a bold sans-serif typeface that aligns with the visual language of SNL.
“I am so glad I got to make this book with these fabulous, smart people,” Matthews reflects. “They supported me throughout the process and captured the joy I aim to bring to my work in a book I’m incredibly proud of.”
