Alberto Vargas' adult pin-up classic of the genre

Alberto Vargas (1896-1982) was an American artist who painted pin-ups, i.e. pictures with beautiful half-naked and nude girls, which are in great demand not only among soldiers and truckers, but also among all those interested in painting in the context of mass culture. He, along with Gil Elvgren, is not unreasonably considered one of the classics of this seemingly not too serious genre, and the originals of the best works are sold at auctions for hundreds of thousands of dollars - a very decent amount for pin-up pictures.

He created his paintings in a mixed technique of watercolor and airbrush. He often posed the most beautiful actresses and models, such as Olive Thomas, Billie Burke, Nick Naldi, Jane Russell, Ann Sheridan, Ruth Etting and others, but Vargas is far from always accurately reproduced their appearance.

A pin-up portrait of Jane Russell.

Jane Russell.

He has developed his own idealized standards of beauty. His beauties are characterized by an impeccably slender figure and refined fingers and toes, for the sake of greater elegance.

A pin-up portrait of Nita Naldi. (real name Mary Nonna Dooley).

Nita Naldi. American film actress, silent film star, famous for her portrayals of femme fatales.

Joaquín Alberto Vargas y Chávez was born in the Peruvian city of Arequipe. His father Max Vargas worked as a portrait photographer, and in his spare time for his own pleasure he took pictures of beautiful views of Peruvian nature and painted landscapes. Having such an example, little Alberto became interested in painting and photography very early. At the age of 7 he was already drawing caricatures, which he successfully sold to local newspapers, and at the age of 10 he was working with home photographic equipment as well as his father.

Flowers of evil

Max Vargas earned enough to send his son to study in Switzerland. Alberto decided to follow in his father's footsteps and become a professional photographer, whose pictures were ready to be printed by the world's most reputable publications.

But World War I broke out, and his father insisted that Alberto moved to his homeland. True, he returned through New York, and this city struck young Vargas to the core. This is where the real life, there you can unfold a creative person, it is not like the dreary existence in Peruvian Arequipa, which, although it was the second largest city in Peru, compared to New York seemed like a remote province.

Pin-up Alberto Vargas

In a few days Vargas made the most important decision of his life: he would stay in New York and try to prove himself there. However, that city had plenty of its own photographers, so at first Vargas had to draw for movie studios posters and scenery. The work was not from the enviable: paid at a minimum, and creative initiative there is not particularly welcomed. However, Vargas had some very successful works, which later determined his further artistic style.

A pin-up portrait of Olive Thomas

Olive Thomas is an American silent film actress.

One was a portrait of perhaps the most beautiful actress in Hollywood, Olive Thomas. There was also a poster for the movie “The Sin of Nora Moran”, featuring a half-naked Cita Johan.

Poster for “The Sin of Nora Moran.”

In the early 40's Vargas was invited to cooperate with the famous men's magazine Esquire, which willingly printed drawings of half-naked beauties. It was there that the famous “Vargas Girls” appeared, which were supposed to boost the morale of American soldiers during World War II.

Pin-up Alberto Vargas

They were repainted onto airplane fuselages and tank turrets, and the purchase of inspirational pin-up posters for soldiers' barracks became an expense for the U.S. War Department. Vargas, along with George Petty, became the most sought-after artist in the military, which allowed him to consistently receive excellent money for his drawings.

A pin-up portrait of Ann Sheridan.

Ann Sheridan.

But a legal battle began between the magazine where he worked and the U.S. Post Office. The puritanical postal workers insisted that the magazine, which often featured Vargas's hotties on its covers, be moved to the most expensive mailing category, in a tightly sealed envelope. This would have been a serious loss for the publication, and it would have increased the cost of the magazine beyond the reach of potential buyers, most of whom were young and poor.

The legal battle lasted three years - from 1943 to 1946. Esquire won the case, but the conflict over Vargas's frivolous illustrations cost the artist his job, as the management decided to fire him for good.

Times were tough for Vargas. Work was scarce, money was scarce, and there were periods of despair when he could barely make ends meet. In 1960, however, everything changed. Vargas was invited to Playboy magazine by his Esquire acquaintance Hugh Hefner. And here the artist's not the most modest illustrations, which were much more candid than the usual pin-ups, came in handy.

Hefner again began to sign them in the magazine as “Vargas girls”, which contributed to the popularity of the artist. The beginning of the sexual revolution and greater freedom of morals played into the hands of Vargas, his “pin-up for adults” was very much in demand, the artist held solo exhibitions in different countries, and at auctions for them gave decent money. His old age was happy.

A pin-up portrait of the artist's wife and model Anna May

Vargas proved that even working in such a frivolous genre as pin-up, you can become a world-famous artist, you just need to take his work extremely seriously, just as he did throughout his life.

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