Alberto Vargas

(Peruvian, 1896-1982)

“What is more beautiful than a beautiful girl?”
—Alberto Vargas

Many have created modern pin-up art, but painter Alberto Vargas may be the most famous artist of them all. Appreciators of his work see an exceptionally talented painter specializing in nudes, not just a simple pin-up artist. Vargas depicted idealized, women in various states of exposure, often elegant with slender fingers and toes, and red nail polish. Vargas’ work was historically significant. As the original wholesome nude, the Varga Girl became an American icon, a distinct marker in time of the feminine ideal. Even if the name Vargas doesn’t ring a bell, his work probably will.

The artist was born Joaquin Alberto Vargas y Chávez in Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru, in 1896. His appreciation for the aesthetic world came from his father, Max T. Vargas, a well-known South American photographer, with studios in Arequipa and La Paz. As a child, Alberto created surprisingly good caricatures, but didn’t yet realize the significance of his talent. At fourteen, his mother sent him and his brother to study in Europe, starting in Zurich, Switzerland. Alberto studied photography and languages, becoming an apprentice at the Julien Studios in Geneva. He then moved to London to finish his education at the Sarony Court Photographers. As he visited the many magnificent European art galleries, he was enchanted and realized he wanted to be a painter, not a photographer. Another defining moment came when he stumbled upon the French magazine La Vie Parisienne, with a cover by Raphael Kirchner, inspiring his focus on the female figure.

In 1916, the First World War drove him to flee Europe. On the way back to Peru, he found himself in New York City waiting for a ship. As he strolled through the city on a glorious summer day with noon bells tolling, he had a personal epiphany, “All of a sudden the doors opened and out poured these girls. Oh my gosh, so many beautiful girls. So right then and there I decided I had to stay,” and so the Peruvian artist embraced American life. It was the Jazz Age, and the art world was exciting and fast-paced. He found work retouching negatives and drawing hats until, in the 1920s, he worked painting promotional posters for upcoming shows of New York’s famous Ziegfeld Follies. His style fused exquisitely with the flood of strikingly beautiful dancers, many of whom would serve as models for his pin-up work. In 1917, Vargas met Anna Mae Clift, a Greenwich Village Follies girl who modeled for Vargas outside her work shifts. Vargas was more deeply interested in Anna Mae right away, but propriety and poor English kept him from telling her his feelings for years - although he did eventually manage it and found she reciprocated them. Vargas painted about a dozen Follies’ paintings each year for the next twelve years, and later claimed Ziegfeld had been the one who showed him “the delicate borderline between a nude picture and a wonderful portrait with style and class.” Perhaps the most famous pin-up from his Ziegfeld days was a nude portrait of Olive Thomas, one of the earliest Varga Girls. Thomas was a Follies dancer, and silent film actress, who passed away at the age of 25 after accidentally ingesting poison, creating quite a scandal. In 1930, Vargas and Clift married by eloping; they would remain happily married until her death decades later. He also did work for many Hollywood studios, creating, among others, the poster for The Sin of Nora Moran (1933). The image shows a nearly nude Zita Johann in dramatic, desperate pose, and is frequently named as one of the greatest movie posters ever made.

In the 1940s, the artist made 180 iconic Varga Girl pin-ups for Esquire magazine, over which objections and controversy ensued. Hugh Hefner, who had previously worked for Esquire and went on to found Playboy magazine, partially explained in 2004, "The US Post Office attempted to put Esquire out of business in the 1940s by taking away its second-class mailing permit. The Feds objected, most especially, to the cartoons and the pin-up art of Alberto Vargas. Esquire prevailed in the case that went to the Supreme Court, but the magazine dropped the cartoons just to be on the safe side." Vargas had relentlessly worked himself at breakneck speed at Esquire, as he had signed a contract without reading it, and found himself required to produce four paintings a month. The resulting rush caused him to make mistakes in his paintings; for example, one girl has six fingers and another is missing an arm. He was on the verge of physical collapse, so Vargas also took Esquire to court trying to get out of the contract and get back control of the Varga Girl name, but after four years of bitter litigation, he lost. He had a hard time financially for another decade, until Playboy magazine began periodically featuring his work in the 1960s and 1970s. Over 16 years, he produced 152 paintings for Playboy. In keeping with the tone of Playboy, those nudes were more openly sexual, although he himself preferred a more subtle approach. His career prospered from there, and he had major exhibitions of his work all over the world.

When Anna Mae passed away in 1974, Vargas was devastated and stopped painting. She had been his muse, model, business manager, and love for over four decades. The publication of his autobiography four years later renewed interest in his work, and brought him partially out of his self-chosen retirement. Vargas passed away of a stroke on December 30, 1982, at the age of 86.

Alberto Vargas is one of the finest artists in his genre. He typically created his work with a combination of watercolor and airbrush. His mastery of the airbrush was so impressive that Airbrush Action Magazine founded the annually given Vargas Award, named for him. Notable women painted by Vargas include Olive Thomas, Billie Burke, Nita Naldi, Marilyn Miller, Paulette Goddard, Bernadette Peters, Irish McCalla, Ruth Etting, and Candy Moore. Many of Vargas' works from his period with Esquire are now held by the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas, to which they were given along with a large body of other art from the magazine in 1980. Prices for his original pin-up paintings have typically ranged from $10,000 to $100,000. Vargas’ work marks a climactic and sensually luxurious shift for post-war art and beauty in America.

American Fine Art, Inc. is proud to feature the original works and limited editions of Alberto Vargas. Visit our 12,000 sq. ft. showroom in Scottsdale, Arizona or call today. Our website is offered only as a limited place to browse or refresh your memory and is not a reflection of our current inventory. To learn more about collecting, pricing, value, or any other art information, please contact one of our International Art Consultants. We look forward to giving you the one on one attention you deserve when building your fine art collection. We hope you find our website helpful and look forward to seeing you in Scottsdale soon.