untitled (gatefold), Alberto Vargas

Artwork Overview

Alberto Vargas, untitled (gatefold)
Alberto Vargas, untitled (gatefold)
Alberto Vargas
untitled (gatefold)
circa 1944
Alberto Vargas, artist
1896–1982
untitled (gatefold), circa 1944
Portfolio/Series title: published in Esquire magazine, November 1944, page 45
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: airbrushing; watercolor
Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 75.9 x 55.7 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 29 7/8 x 21 15/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 32 x 24 in
Credit line: Gift of Esquire, Inc.
Accession number: 1980.0612
Not on display
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Exhibition Label: "Alberto Vargas: The Esquire Pinups," Sep-2001, Stephen Goddard, Maria Buszek This figure with airbrushed gown recalls the famous “Memphis Belle” pinup (owned by the Spencer Museum of Art) that was designed by Vargas’ predecessor at Esquire, George Petty. Petty’s pinup was used as the mascot of one of the most acclaimed aircraft of the war, a B-17 that was the first bomber in the German theater to complete 25 missions without losing a single crew member. Vargas designs also adorned many aircraft and at least one submarine (see the exhibited gatefold of August 1944). Vargas never turned down a request for a mascot design for the military.