Probably the most well known pinup artist of all time is Alberto Vargas.
He truly was a pioneer of airbrush art, and he is most noted for the obsessively polished look of his pin ups.
His Varga Girls are, in my mind, the most famous art work of the pinup art genre.
His career spanned 6 decades! He began in 1919 and distinguished himself as the official artist of the Ziegfeld Follies.
Vargas painted many of their stars including Billie Burke, Paulette Goddard, Eddie Cantor and W.
C.
Fields.
In the 30's he became a very well known artist for the Hollywood studios.
Some of the leading ladies he painted included Ann Sheridan, Betty Grable, and Marlene Dietrich.
But the transition which brought him to the peak of his career was his contract with Esquire Magazine in the 1940's.
This was when his pin up girls, known as Varga Girls, became household names.
His most famous art forms at this time were his pinup calendars and pinup posters .
During the 1950's Vargas worked for the Hollywood studios again, painting Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Shelley Winters and Ava Gardner.
He also issued his own deck of Vargas Girl playing cards, called "Vargas Vanities.
During this period he also did his own variation of nude painting for Playboy Magazine and Hugh Hefner.
He continued to work until his death in 1982.
Probably his most famous art work among modern audiences is his Candy-O album cover for the band The Cars.
His work is greatly prized by collectors, and his pinups are widely reproduced today.
I even own a set of Varga Girl refrigerator magnets!