Pinup art had a moment in history, in which there were many prolific pinup artists who specialized in creating beautiful images of women for the sake of art, and also for commercial purposes.
Gil Elvgren
Born in Minnesota, USA in 1914, Gil studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Illinois USA. He was a successful artist who became renowned for his pinup illustrations. He produced well-known commercial art, such as the work he did for Coca-Cola advertisements. His signature style was playfully provocative, famously producing many pieces in which gals are depicted with their skirt blown up to reveal their garter stockings, or in various states of undress with the impression that they were caught halfway. There is a lot of movement and fun in his pieces. He often used reference photographs of girls and celebrities as the basis for creating his works.
Alberto Vargas
You may have heard of a Vargas Girl, and they were the creation of Alberto Vargas, an artist born in 1896 and originally from Peru. Originally Alberto worked as a portrait artist, but found his style in creating pinup images with his signature elongated silhouettes. His work was featured in Esquire magazine during his time, and his artwork is now incredibly valuable. In addition to creating memorable pinup girls, his contributions to the art world also included pioneering work with airbrushing, a technique that is now commonplace in commercial art.
