Gil Elvgren

A handful of American artists would lift the pinup calendar to its greatest heights.  Among those, Alberto
Vargas, George Petty, Rolf Armstrong, Zoe Mozert, Earl Moran and to the one and only Gil Elvgren.

Elvgren was one of the most important pin-up and glamour artists of the twentieth century.  In addition, he was a classical American illustrator.  He was a master of portraying the feminine, but he wasn't limited to the calendar pin-up industry. He was strongly influenced by the early "pretty girl" illustrators, such as Charles Dana Gibson, Andrew Loomis, and Howard Chandler Christy.  Other influences included the Brandywine School founded by Howard Pyle.

Elvgren was a commercial success.  His clients ranged from Brown & Bigelow and Coca-Cola to General Electric and Sealy Mattress Company.  In addition, during the 1940s and 1950s he illustrated stories for a host of magazines, such as The Saturday Evening Post and Good Housekeeping.

Although best known for his pin-ups, his work for Coca-Cola and others depicted typical Americans — ordinary people doing everyday things.  The women Elvgren painted were never the femme fatale, the female adventuress, or somebody's mistress.  They are the girl next door whose charms are innocently revealed in that fleeting instant when she is caught unaware in what might be an embarrassing situation.