Pinup, glamour, and cheesecake as we generally think of it today began to gain popularity in the 1930’s. It was a time when the image of a pretty girl flourished. Whether it was a painted calendar; advertisement; or the photo pinups of Rita, Betty or Esther that the G.I.’s adorned their footlockers with. Pinup was a uniquely American art form.
Although beautiful women had been portrayed in print for years by the likes of Armstrong, Christy and Gibson...it wasn’t until Esquire magazine began publishing George Petty’s humorous one panel cartoons of out of this world girls being ogled, and propositioned by unlikely suitors, that the die was struck, and America's fascination with pinup took off like a rocket.
Classically trained illustrators like Petty, Rolf Armstrong, and Gil Elvgren began creating some of the most memorable, technically exquisite “Americana†ever produced! Calendars; magazine covers; mutoscopes; and matchbooks became a personal view into the private lives of the girl next door. Pinup art continued to grow in popularity, and sophistication through the 1950’s.
There were magazine articles featuring the country's favorite artists, who through their depictions of these enticing beauties, had become household names. Pinups were everywhere! During WWII, in some cases they were a soldiers only link to their world back home. Movies were made about Pinup Artists and models…and most actresses of the time were considered pinups first then actresses. Marilyn Monroe was Earl Morans' favorite model before and after she became a movie star! Numerous celebrities throughout the last 75 years have posed for pinup and glamour artists.
However, by 1960 the classic “painted†pinup was all but dead. Either the public was asking for more, or publishers became aware of what they could produce and sell. Pinup Art became inappropriately lost within the sea of the sex industry. Paintings of attractive seductive women became increasingly more realistic, and explicit. Apparently in an attempt to compete with the photographs that were more an expression of the publics' fascination with nudity, than creativity or beauty.
This page is a tribute to the artists of the American Classic Pinup era and their works.
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