An Ode To Film | The Pinup 
Written by: JP

"Pinup" is actually a word in the dictionary. This
entry is from World Book Dictionary: "noun   1. a
picture of a very attractive or famous person,
pinned up on a wall, as in a barracks, usually
by admirers who have not met the subject. 2. a
very attractive girl, especially one considered
attractive enough to be the subject of such a
picture."

Images of woman as art, is as old as art.  But good art
was expensive, and limited in numbers.  Even after mass
printing of pictures became practical, it was not until
the "roaring twenties" that styles and customs in America
deemed it acceptable for woman to have the limbs uncovered.
Pictures of women in these daring fashions were now in the
mainstream.

Pinup art gained popularity in the 1930's in calendars,
magazines and postcards.  Most of the images were paintings
but movie stars were making photograph pinups popular.

Esquire Magazine helped in making paintings of pinup art
of glamorous women popular.  Using a low paying artist
was less expensive than photo production.

George Petty made paintings of women for Esquire from the
1930's to 1941 when he quit over his low pay.  It is George
Petty's art from the April 1941 issue of Esquire that was
used to decorate the "Memphis Belle" World War II bomber.
You can see it in "The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying
Fortress" (1944) and "Memphis Belle" (1990).

Most paintings of pinup art were not of famous people.
Petty created womanly images by combining features
of several models. His style is noted for making the head
smaller and the legs longer.  His daughter Majorie was his
usual model from the 1930's through the 1940's.  His wife,
Jule was his first model and she helped think up the ideas.
His "Petty Girls" were as famous as the "Gibson Girls."
Petty also did paintings of Hollywood Stars.  In 1950
"The Petty Girl" was the title of a movie.

Edward Runci was a portrait artist in Hollywood when he was
approached by a calendar company for pinups. His wife Maxine
was often his model.  She was a gifted artist herself and
painted several pinups under the name M. Stevens and M. Runci.
Other women were noted at pinup artists.  Pearl Frush, Zoe
Mozert (noted for her pastels), and Joyce Ballantyne.  They
often used their own likeness as a model.  [Which is not
uncommon.]

Photography was also pinup art.  The movie studios made
available pictures of the stars and licensed the images on
all types of items.  The stars were under contract and had
little choice in the matter.  These included postcards,
matchbooks, and -- in the 1950's -- the tops of ice cream
containers. During World War II pinups were popular with
soldiers. Sometimes a pinup was a soldier's only connection
to home. The three most popular pinups during World War II
were Rita Hayworth, Jane Russell and Betty Grable.  Betty
Grable images were everywhere.  Her image was on
postcards, magazines and even painted on bombers. In 1944
she starred in the movie "Pinup Girl."

Yank magazine, with a circulation of about 2.2 million,
kept the troops supplied with photographs of pretty women.
Pages were torn out and kept as pinups.  Many photos were
of actresses, but not all.  The August 2, 1945, issue has
a photo by David Conover of Norma Jeane Baker, a factory
worker who later became Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Monroe
became noted as a pinup girl due to the efforts of
Bernard of Hollywood and other photographers.  Her fame
on pinups helped her start a film career.

In the 1950's color photography had become as excellent
as color painting.  Due to improvements in printing.  A
major change in pinup art.  Bettie Page (that is how she
spelled her name) became one of the most popular models
in pinup art.  A model and photographer, Bunny Yeager,
worked with Bettie Page. Together they re-defined glamour
photography and helped change the style of pinup art.
Due to Bettie's efforts as a model, she was also in a few
movies. Body of a Female (1964) earned her a movie credit.

In the 1950's pinup became less, "girl next door" and
more erotic. Glamour photography became more provocative.
The pinup painters at the time were doing nudes. The
false eyelashes, bright red lipstick, penciled
eyebrows, and styled hair of the 1940's was still there.
Now the images showed more flesh.  Actresses did not
dominate the pinup market as they did in the 1940's.
Playboy was the new pinup magazine.  Marilyn Monroe
was the first to posed in it. Jayne Mansfield posed
for Playboy in 1955.  As well as other actresses
such as Brigitte Bardot in 1958.  Actresses quickly
learned, they do not have to follow the studio rules.

Pinup art did not disappear in the 1960's.  It left the
mainstream of publications.  It was still popular with
the soldiers, but they could not display the pinups.  
Also, studio contracts had less control over the career
of an actress.  Leaving an actress free to choose how she
wants to lead her career.  Playboy and not Esquire was
the popular pinup magazine.  Playboy even hired
former Esquire artist Alberto Vargas to continue his
paintings of pinup women.  More actress were appearing
in Playboy. Elizabeth Taylor in 1963, Mamie Van Doren in
1964, Jean Harlow in 1966, Ann-Margaret in 1966, and Julie
Newmar in 1968 to name a few.

The last 30 years have seen more pinup art.  Not so
much a revival;  rather, more mainstream publications
are showing picture of pretty women.  Actresses are
in a situation to add to their publicity. In 1975,
Farrah Fawcett had a poster of her in a one-piece
swimsuit that sold 8,000,000 copies. It helped her
get a role in the TV show Charlie's Angles.  During
the run of the TV show, her photo appeared in 20
different publications in the same month.

Actresses have posed for pinup art for publicity.
Dana Plato posed for Playboy in 1989.  Many believe
it was to salvage a waining career.  Some have
posed to show they are ready for adult roles and
should no longer be considered a little girl.

In 1999 Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina, the Teen-aged
Witch) posed for Maxim mazine.

Jessica Biel played Mary Camden on the TV's
"7th Heaven." She posed for the March 2000 issue of
Gear magazine in adult style.  It may have been
staged to help her get out of her contract, or she
wanted to show she was ready for more mature roles.
In 1999 she was turned down for a role in the movie
"American Beauty" in favor of Thora Birch.

Today, many books are available of the pinup art made
famous in the middle part of the last century.  Type in
Pinup, or Petty or Vargas into any search engine will
produce many examples.  The current efforts of pinup
art are often called glamour photography. There is still
much painting done in the pinup style.  Current artists
include Baron Von Lind and D. L. Rust.  They both have web
sites.

Baron Von Lind
http://www.baronvonlind.com/pinups/pinups.html
D. L. Rust
http://rustyrust.dreamg8.com/339.htm.
Bernard of Hollywood.
http://www.bernardofhollywood.com/homepage.htm

Lists of noted pinup artists bio's.
http://homepage.mac.com/brons/Art/whois.html