The Secret King of Pin-Up You Didn't Know About: Rolf Armstrong

Rolf Amstrong: 1889–1960 — American artist who painted pin-ups, one of the classics of this genre, which became a kind of prototype of modern glossy photography in men's magazines. Unlike many other pin-up artists, Armstrong preferred to paint his pictures of charming half-naked and naked girls in pastel, like Edgar Degas or Jean-Etienne Liotard.

How Am I Doing?

He paid special attention to the models themselves, depicting them on an abstract background, often painted in bright colors, to emphasize the girl’s psychotype, in order to place greater emphasis on their attractiveness and beauty.

Let’s Get Together

Armstrong is originally from the American city of Seattle. His father Richard Armstrong owned a ship maintenance and repair company on the Great Lakes. However, soon he began to have financial difficulties and he and his family had to move to Detroit. Armstrong from childhood loved to draw and showed considerable ability in this case, which allowed him to enroll in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Coquette

After his studies he moved to New York, where he additionally studied with the artist Robert Henry. In addition to drawing, Armstrong loved boxing, sometimes went into the ring himself and in general was his own in this environment. Known series of drawings made by him in the New York Sports Club.

In 1919, Rolf studied at the Julian Academy in Paris. Finally decided he had enough experience and skill to open his own studio. There he first began working on a series of pin-up drawings, “The Zigfield Girls”.

Brim Full of Beauty

Armstrong was a true perfectionist, so he did not want, like other pin-up artists, to take black and white photographs of his models in the appropriate pose, and then draw his pin-up based on them. In his opinion, this would lose the natural rendering of colors in the drawings. Therefore, he invited girls who would take the appropriate, inviting, attractive pose, and Armstrong would depict them on canvas.

Rolf Armstrong at work in his workshop

It was more expensive and more troublesome than painting from a photograph, but the result was worth it. However, because of this approach to work, Armstrong had to deliberately paint over the background so as not to waste time drawing it while posing.

Rosalie

But Armstrong's pin-up quickly became very popular. Many celebrities commissioned portraits from him, including movie stars such as Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn.

Portrait of Norma Shearer

He has collaborated with many leading American magazines such as Photoplay, Metropolitan and others, and has done pin-ups for Brown & Bigelow calendars. All his models are drawn from life, the artist, if embellished, then to a minimum, just based on the peculiarities of the genre. He posed many beauties, mostly American actresses, both famous and just starting their way in cinematography, but his favorite model was Jewel Flowers Evans.

See You Soon

She came to Armstrong on an ad in the New York Times in 1940, when he was already very tired of working with capricious Hollywood stars. He wanted more naturalness and ease, to try to portray an ordinary girl from the street, not an unattainable star. Evans was perfect for this role, as a result, Armstrong worked with her for about 20 years, and it ended only when her appearance due to age could not meet pin-up standards.

Venus

When asked why he only works with live models, Armstrong said: “I like to feel the presence of a beautiful girl, and I try to reflect everything I see in the drawing. I get a lot of new impressions when I look at her and I try to pass them on to the viewers so that they can feel the heat of her young beautiful heart”.

Nude with Right Arm on Head

Armstrong had enough money to build his “Fantasy Mansion”, located on the shore of the bay. Next to it he ordered to build a pier, where a dozen boats were bobbing - another passion of the artist. In addition, collected a rich collection of antique swords and copies, one of the best in America. He loved life, glamorous party, fast cars, beautiful girls and the sea. He died in paradise, in Hawaii, having lived a beautiful life, so reminiscent of his magnificent pin-up pictures.

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