Alberto Vargas

Alberto Vargas took over Esquire magazine’s monthly pin-up post in late 1940. By 1942, when the U.S. joined the war, he had more than a million ardent enlisted fans who carried his pin-ups in backpacks and duffel bags as reminders of the American girls they’d left behind. When Esquire was charged with obscenity over a particularly spicy pin-up in 1943 the military stepped in to fight for the Varga Girl, declaring her necessary to maintain the morale of young fighting men. Today these wartime pin-ups are the most collectible of Vargas’s work. Find them all in this pocket-sized delight.

One big slice of cheesecake, brought to you by Dian Hanson. This extra-large, extra-lush compendium gathers nearly 100 pin-up artists, with showcase chapters for the top 10, including Gil Elvgren and Alberto Vargas. Each chapter opens with a tipped-in reproduction of an original calendar or magazine cover and boasts original model photos as well as preparatory sketches.

His precise and delicate rendering combines the French pin-up aesthetic of Brénot and Aslan with the American aesthetic of Alberto Vargas, George Petty and Gil Elvgren.