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Alberto VargasC 20th Portrait of Female Nude by Hollywood favourite Vargas: 'Reclining Nude'
About the Item
Alberto Vargas was a Peruvian artist best known for his drawings and paintings of pin-up girls that were featured in many notable publications in the 20th century including Esquire and Playboy. His graceful, subtly-detailed paintings and portraits helped define the iconic image of the 'pin-up girl' and cemented his name in the world of art, Hollywood and pop-culture, and continues to influence subsequent generations of artists.
This drawing depicts a female nude lying on her recently removed dress with her head resting on a cushion. She looks alluringly back at the viewer almost inviting one into the room. The vignette is completed by the record player behind the reclining figure. This image speaks of the hedonism of 20th century Hollywood and is a perfect example of Varga’s elegant style.
“What is more beautiful than a beautiful girl”. – Alberto Vargas.
- Creator:Alberto Vargas (1896 - 1982, Peruvian)
- Dimensions:Height: 28 in (71.12 cm)Width: 34.5 in (87.63 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU67334216162
Alberto Vargas
Alberto Vargas (1896-1982) was born in Arequipa, Peru, in 1896, the son of a successful photographer, and was educated in Switzerland. Arriving in New York in 1916, he was determined to stay in America and pursue what became an illustrious career. His name has become synonymous with pin-up girls, but in the early 1940s, he was just a guy hired by Esquire magazine to imitate departed star George Petty, who bolted over pay. Vargas initially aped Petty's sleek women with their telephone posing and large-hat lounging; soon, however, his own distinctive, delicate watercolor style emerged. His wide-eyed wonder- women rivaled Betty Grable as the ultimate pin-up girl of World War II. Vargas, who signed his Esquire work "Varga", had already achieved some notoriety for his Ziegfeld Follies and movie poster art. But Esquire made him famous, though he was paid poorly and, like Petty, eventually quit. Legal problems over ownership of his work, even of his own signature, plagued him. But late in his life, Vargas was given a second shot at fame and fortune by longtime fan Hugh Hefner. His regular Playboy slot in the 1960s and '70s elevated Vargas to a pinnacle eclipsing Petty. One of the true giants of American illustration, Alberto Vargas has created an art style so sensuous, so exquisite, that for the past six decades his magnificent paintings of women have come to embody the fantasies of three generations of women and men around the world. His work also appeared in Harper's Bazaar, Theatre Magazine, and Tattler. He died in December 1982.
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The Vintage Record
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Reclining Figure
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