July pinup girl by artist George Petty

This July pinup girl dates from 1953 and was painted by George Petty.

From 1933 to 1956, the "Petty Girl" was seen on tens of millions of calendars, magazine centrefolds, advertisements, posters, and billboards as well as on all sorts of specialty products. In 1950, "The Petty Girl" even became a major motion picture.

See also the George Petty galleries at The Pinup Files.

ARTIST :: George Petty
DATE :: 1953
Image subject to copyright

June pin-up girl by artist Alberto Vargas

This June pin-up girl was published in 1947 by Esquire Magazine and was painted by Alberto Vargas.

When Alberto Vargas and Esquire went their separate ways in 1946, the artist immediately embarked upon a project to publish his own yearly calendar. In the meantime, the magazine published an Esquire Calendar for 1947 that consisted completely of unsigned Vargas paintings. By the time Vargas' 1948 calendar was published, Esquire had a court order barring the artist from selling or distributing any product bearing the name "Varga", which the magazine had copyrighted.

In 1950, a court ruled that Vargas would have to sign all his subsequent paintings with his full name.

ARTIST :: Alberto Vargas
DATE :: 1947
Copyright © Esquire Inc

May pin-up girl by artist Ernest Chiriaka

This May pin-up girl was published in 1954 by Esquire Magazine and was painted by Ernest Chiriaka.

Chiriaka took over the magazine's pin-up calendar from Al Moore in 1953, a great responsibility since the calendar was the largest-selling and most popular in the world.

ARTIST :: Ernest Chiriaka
DATE :: 1954
Copyright © Esquire Inc

April pin-up girl by Bill Randall

This April pin-up girl was published in 1956 by the Kemper-Thomas Calendar Company and was painted by Bill Randall.

Bill Randall was a highly prolific, versatile illustrator who painted pin-up and pin-up art for a vast range of markets. The first of Randall's Date Book calendar series was published in 1953 by the Kemper-Thomas Calendar Company in Ohio. One of the most successful in the company's history, the series is sometimes compared to the Artist's Sketch Pads published by Brown & Bigelow. However, Randall's sketches were executed in gouache rather than pencil and were drawn on an overlay rather than on the painting itself. The result was that his calendars had a more light-hearted feeling, accented by the cartoon-like side sketches. That a photograph of Randall often appeared on the front of the calendar only enhanced his celebrity.

Want to know more? Go to the Bill Randall gallery at The Pinup Files.

ARTIST :: Bill Randall
DATE :: 1956
Copyright © Kemper-Thomas Calendar Company

March pin-up girl by Bill Randall

This March pin-up girl was published in 1959 by the Kemper-Thomas Calendar Company and was painted by Bill Randall.

Bill Randall was a highly prolific, versatile illustrator who painted pin-up and pin-up art for a vast range of markets. The first of Randall's Date Book calendar series was published in 1953 by the Kemper-Thomas Calendar Company in Ohio. One of the most successful in the company's history, the series is sometimes compared to the Artist's Sketch Pads published by Brown & Bigelow. However, Randall's sketches were executed in gouache rather than pencil and were drawn on an overlay rather than on the painting itself. The result was that his calendars had a more light-hearted feeling, accented by the cartoon-like side sketches. That a photograph of Randall often appeared on the front of the calendar only enhanced his celebrity.

Want to know more? Go to the Bill Randall gallery at The Pinup Files.

ARTIST :: Bill Randall
DATE :: 1959
Copyright © Kemper-Thomas Calendar Company

February pin-up girl by artist Ernest Chiriaka

This February pin-up girl was published in 1953 by Esquire Magazine and was painted by Ernest Chiriaka.

Chiriaka took over the magazine's pin-up calendar from Al Moore in 1953, a great responsibility since the calendar was the largest-selling and most popular in the world.

ARTIST :: Ernest Chiriaka
DATE :: 1953
Copyright © Esquire Inc

January pin-up girl by artist Ernest Chiriaka

This January pin-up girl was published in 1953 by Esquire Magazine and was painted by Ernest Chiriaka.

Chiriaka took over the magazine's pin-up calendar from Al Moore in 1953, a great responsibility since the calendar was the largest-selling and most popular in the world.

ARTIST :: Ernest Chiriaka
DATE :: 1953
Image subject to copyright

December pin-up girl by artist George Petty

This December pin-up girl dates from 1947 and was painted by George Petty.

From 1933 to 1956, the "Petty Girl" was seen on tens of millions of calendars, magazine centrefolds, advertisements, posters, and billboards as well as on all sorts of specialty products. In 1950, "The Petty Girl" even became a major motion picture.

Want to know more? Go to the George Petty galleries at The Pinup Files.

ARTIST :: George Petty
DATE :: 1947
Image subject to copyright

November pin-up girl by artist George Petty

This November pin-up girl dates from 1952 and was painted by George Petty.

From 1933 to 1956, the "Petty Girl" was seen on tens of millions of calendars, magazine centrefolds, advertisements, posters, and billboards as well as on all sorts of specialty products. In 1950, "The Petty Girl" even became a major motion picture.

See also the George Petty galleries at The Pinup Files.

ARTIST :: George Petty
DATE :: 1952
Image subject to copyright

October pinup girl by artist Al Moore

This October pinup girl was painted by Al Moore for the 1950 Esquire calendar.

Al Moore's breakthrough assignment was being chosen by Esquire to replace Alberto Vargas, the most popular pin-up artist of the day. Among his triumphs at the magazine were his creation of the Esquire Girl (his answer to the Varga Girl), the 1948 Esquire calendar (with Ben-Hur Baz and others), front covers in 1948 and 1949, and the rare honor of painting the entire 1949 and 1950 calendars himself. By 1950, his two-page gatefolds in Esquire were collected by millions of Americans.

See also the Al Moore gallery at The Pin-up Files.

ARTIST :: Al Moore
DATE :: 1950
Image subject to copyright

September pinup girl by artist George Petty

This September pinup girl dates from 1952 and was painted by George Petty.

From 1933 to 1956, the "Petty Girl" was seen on tens of millions of calendars, magazine centrefolds, advertisements, posters, and billboards as well as on all sorts of specialty products. In 1950, "The Petty Girl" even became a major motion picture.

See also the George Petty galleries at The Pinup Files.

ARTIST :: George Petty
DATE :: 1952
Image subject to copyright

August pinup girl by artist George Petty

This August pinup girl dates from 1952 and was painted by George Petty.

From 1933 to 1956, the "Petty Girl" was seen on tens of millions of calendars, magazine centrefolds, advertisements, posters, and billboards as well as on all sorts of specialty products. In 1950, "The Petty Girl" even became a major motion picture.

See also the George Petty galleries at The Pinup Files.

ARTIST :: George Petty
DATE :: 1952
Image subject to copyright

Christmas pin-ups

From 1933 to 1956, the "Petty Girl" was seen on tens of millions of calendars, magazine centrefolds, advertisements, posters, and billboards as well as on all sorts of specialty products. In 1950, "The Petty Girl" even became a major motion picture.

Want to know more? Go to the George Petty galleries at The Pinup Files.

ARTIST :: George Petty
Image subject to copyright

Harry Ekman - vintage pinup artist

Want to know more? See the Harry Ekman gallery at The Pinup Files.

ARTIST :: Harry EKMAN
TITLE :: My Assets 34-24-36
DATE :: 1950s
Image subject to copyright

June pinup girl by artist George Petty

This June pinup girl dates from 1952 and was painted by George Petty.

From 1933 to 1956, the "Petty Girl" was seen on tens of millions of calendars, magazine centrefolds, advertisements, posters, and billboards as well as on all sorts of specialty products. In 1950, "The Petty Girl" even became a major motion picture.

See also the George Petty galleries at The Pinup Files.

ARTIST :: George Petty
DATE :: 1952
Image subject to copyright

May pinup girl by artist George Petty

This May pinup girl dates from 1953 and was painted by George Petty.

From 1933 to 1956, the "Petty Girl" was seen on tens of millions of calendars, magazine centrefolds, advertisements, posters, and billboards as well as on all sorts of specialty products. In 1950, "The Petty Girl" even became a major motion picture.

See also the George Petty galleries at The Pinup Files.

ARTIST :: George Petty
DATE :: 1953
Image subject to copyright

April pinup girl by artist George Petty

This March pin-up girl dates from 1952 and was painted by George Petty.

From 1933 to 1956, the "Petty Girl" was seen on tens of millions of calendars, magazine centrefolds, advertisements, posters, and billboards as well as on all sorts of specialty products. In 1950, "The Petty Girl" even became a major motion picture.

See also the George Petty galleries at The Pinup Files.

ARTIST :: George Petty
DATE :: 1952
Image subject to copyright

March pinup girl by artist George Petty

This March pin-up girl dates from 1953 and was painted by George Petty.

From 1933 to 1956, the "Petty Girl" was seen on tens of millions of calendars, magazine centrefolds, advertisements, posters, and billboards as well as on all sorts of specialty products. In 1950, "The Petty Girl" even became a major motion picture.

See also the George Petty galleries at The Pin-up Files.

ARTIST :: George Petty
DATE :: 1953
Image subject to copyright

February pinup girl by artist Al Moore

This February pinup girl was painted by Al Moore for the 1950 Esquire calendar.

Al Moore's breakthrough assignment was being chosen by Esquire to replace Alberto Vargas, the most popular pin-up artist of the day. Among his triumphs at the magazine were his creation of the Esquire Girl (his answer to the Varga Girl), the 1948 Esquire calendar (with Ben-Hur Baz and others), front covers in 1948 and 1949, and the rare honor of painting the entire 1949 and 1950 calendars himself. By 1950, his two-page gatefolds in Esquire were collected by millions of Americans.

See also the Al Moore gallery at The Pin-up Files.

ARTIST :: Al Moore
DATE :: 1950
Image subject to copyright

January pinup girl by artist George Petty

This January pinup girl dates from 1952 and was painted by George Petty.

From 1933 to 1956, the "Petty Girl" was seen on tens of millions of calendars, magazine centrefolds, advertisements, posters, and billboards as well as on all sorts of specialty products. In 1950, "The Petty Girl" even became a major motion picture.

Want to know more? Go to the George Petty galleries at The Pin-up Files.

ARTIST :: George Petty
DATE :: 1952
Image subject to copyright