Heffy's Collections: October 2009

The term pin-up was coined around 1941 to describe pictures of attractive women intended for hanging up like a calendar or poster. Pin-up art existed long before they were called pin-ups. The first pictures like this were drawn about 1890 by Charles Dana Gibson. The "Gibson girls" were thought to be the American standard of beauty. They were pretty, shapely, and youthful. Several illustrators worked for Gibson until the start of World War I. Fashions began to change and the wasp-waisted beauty was not as favored (thank goodness-the corsets needed a rest!) As motion pictures grew in popularity, actresses became popular as pin-up subjects. They were the sex symbols of their day.

One of my favorite early screen stars is Pola Negri. Although there are many others of the 1920's who are better known, such as Clara Bow, Greta Garbo, and Mary Pickford, I prefer the quiet subtle allure of Pola.

and just look at the coat! The '30's brought us Jean Harlow, Gypsy Rose Lee, and Marlene Dietrich along with many other stars of the screen and celebrities. During WWII, the art form really blossomed. All over the globe, GI's hung pictures of their favorites. Pin-ups could be found in many places, including on the planes the military men flew. Nose art on these planes was an art form of its' own.

This picture on a B17 explains a pin-up far better than I can. It was called nose art due to the proximity to the nose of the airplane. It personalized the machine in a special way. For the most part, the military did not approve of the paintings, adding to their appeal.

An artist named Alberto Vargas provided one bridge between these two periods. When he came to this country from Peru, he was quite taken with the beauty he saw in New York City. He began his campaign to glorify the "American Girl". In the '20's, he painted portraits of many of the Ziegfeld stars appearing in the Follies. He worked for various studios including Paramount and Twentieth Century Fox. He also illustrated for magazines, particularly the cover art. He agreed to do paintings for Esquire in 1940, on the condition he changed his name to Varga. The first Varga Girl calendar came out later that year. He parted company with Esquire in 1946, but he continued to paint calendars and portraits on his own (using Vargas again). In 1960, he went to work for Playboy, and the rest, as they say, is history.