Welcome to...The Fonz Gallery!

The Fonz Gallery is conveniently located in Pleasantville, USA.

This gallery has a unique 1950s theme to it. We specifically showcase artwork from the nifty fifties that focus on icons of the era such as: Coke-A-Cola, Santa Claus, Betty Boop and Hula Hoops.

If, for some reason, you find that you're not satisfied with your visit, feel free to contact the owner...the one and only.....Henry Winkler at 1(800) 123-ayyy.

Have a great visit, guys and dolls!

The Girl Next Door: The Exhibition.

The Girl Next Door is an exhibition that showcases pinup artists from the 30s to the 50s.
All artists had different meanings to their art but all created the image we know today as "the girl next door."
We selectively chose artists that were the most well-known for their pinup art.

In this exhibition, you will see the works of:

Alberto Vargas                                   Gil Elvgren
Billy De Vorss                                    Zoe Mosert
Rolf Armstrong                                  Arnold Armitage
T.N. Thompson                                  George Petty
Earl MacPherson                                Art Frahm

ENJOY! (:

Alberto Vargas

"Marilyn Monroe" by Alberto Vargas

Watercolor and pencil on board

29.5x19.5in.

1953

"Jane Russell" by Alberto Vargas

28.5x19.5in.

Watercolor and pencil on board

1942

     Pinup artist Alberto Vargas was born in 1896 in Peru to the photographer Max Vargas. While taking a trip to Geneva, Vargas decided that's where he was going to study. He lived there until 1916 where he immigrated to New York.

     While in the Big Apple, Vargas was so fascinated by American women. His first job was drawing fashion designs in watercolor and ink for the Adelson Hat Company.

     In late 1919, an employee of Ziegfeld Follies saw Vargas painting in a store window and asked him to show his work to Mr. Ziegfeld. Barely a day later, Vargas was working on twelve portraits of the Ziegfeld Follies for the lobby of the New Amsterdam theatre.

     In 1929, Vargas worked for the Paramount Pictures' New York department and made the original artwork for the film "Glorifying the American Girl." Vargas actually ended up meeting his wife, Anna Mae Ciift, on the set of the movie.

    Once married, the couple started their lives together by moving to Hollywood where Alberto worked for Warner Brothers and MGM studios.

     In 1941, Esquire Magazine hired Vargas as a replacement for the then-popular George Petty, whose contract expired that December. Within two months of being hired, Esquire published the first Varga Girl calendar which sold more copies than any other calendar before.

     Due to the calendar's major success, many stars of the time wanted to pose for Vargas. The stars who posed included: Ann Sheridan, Jane Russell, and Marilyn Monroe.

     Most people recognize Vargas for the 152 paintings he created for Playboy. Out of all his works, only two of which were front-cover images: an issue in 1961 and the March 1965 issue.

     When his wife died in 1974, Vargas lost most of his interest in art. Alberto Vargas passed away on December 30, 1982 in Los Angeles.

Billy De Vorss

"The Perfect Wave" by Billy De Vorss

8x10in.

Pastel on board

1945

"Pose Please" by Billy De Vorss

8x10in

Pastel on board

1946

     WIlliam Albartus De Vorss was born in Missouri in 1908. He graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1934 and had already sold three of his pinups to the Louis F. Dow Calendar Company.

     In the late 30s, De Vorss's talent was picked up by the Brown and Bigelow Calendar-publishing house.

     De Vorss used a large variety of pastel colors for his work and preferred to use his fingers instead of brushes to paint. His art displays a flowing, graceful line and occasionally includes clashing colors.

     De Vorss settled in Scottsdale, Arizona in the 60s, where he passed away in 1985 at the age of 77.

Rolf Armstrong

"Golden Girl" by Rolf Armstrong

Oil on canvas

8x10in.

1933

"Let's Get Together" by Rolf Armstrong

Sketch and Oil

8x10in.

1940

     Rolf Armstrong was born in Seattle, Washington in 1899 and moved to Chicago in 1908 where he enrolled at the Art Institute immediately after high school.

     In 1919, Armstrong founded a studio in Greenwich Village where he painted Ziegfeld Follies Girls. In 1921, he moved to Minneapolis to study calendar production at Brown and Bigelow. 

     During the 1930s, Armstrong's pinup art was displayed on a lot of sheet music and mainstream film magazines. Armstrong was known for the celebrities that posed for him--including Katherine Hepburn and Greta Garbo.

     In 1927, he became known as the best-selling calendar artist at Brown and Bigelow. With more than two million copies sold of the 1926 issue.

    At a War Advertising Conference in Minneapolis, Armstrong said:

     "When I paint, I want the living person in front of me. As I look at her again and again while I work, I get a thousand fresh, vivid impressions...all the glow, exuberance, and spontaneous joy that leaps from a young and happy heart."

     

     Armstrong was inspired by the true beauty in people, art, and nature. He died on February 22, 1960 surrounded by the beauty of Oahu in Hawaii.

Earl MacPherson

"Going Places" by Earl MacPherson

8x10in.

Oil on canvas

1941

"At Your Command" by Earl MacPherson

8x10in.

Oil on canvas

1942.

     Edgar Earl MacPherson was born in August, 1910 in Oklahoma. He moved to LA directly after high school to take classes at Chouinard School of Art. MacPherson's first part time job was painting movie posters at a theatre downtown. 

     By the late 1930s, he was hired by the "Kings of Pinup" aka Brown and Bigelow. Although he loved working for them, MacPherson stated that he was having trouble 'making the grade' in such a large company. A year after leaving them, he created one of his most famous pinups "At Your Command" in 1942. He sold his original sketch to the Lucky Strike cigarette company and made enough profit to settle down in Del Mar, California by 1946. While in his early retirement, MacPherson wrote and illustrated the 'How to' art book titled "How to Draw and Paint Beautiful Girls" in 1954. Earl MacPherson was diagnosed with polio in 1951 and survived until December 1993.

T.N. Thompson

"Want to See Me Swing My Baton?" by T.N. Thompson

8x10in.

Sketch and watercolor

1952

"I Certainly Keep Abreast of the Times" by T.N. Thompson

8x10in.

Sketch and watercolor

1952

     T.N. Thompson was Earl MacPherson's assistant starting in 1948. His original name was Jerry Thompson but he chose to sign his artwork under the pseudonym 'T.N.' to protect his identity.

     In 1951, Thompson had taken on the responsibility of painting the annual 'MacPherson SKetch Book' for the Shaw-Barton Calendar Company because MacPherson's Polio was too advanced.

     Thompson continued painting for the calendar until 1958 when he started selling his images to the John Baumgarth Calendar Company. 

     In 1952, Thompson's image "Want to See Me Swing My Baton?" issued in that edition of the calendar became Thompson's most famous pinup. More than a million copies were sold to advertisers who wanted the All-American look.

     In 1958, he created his own calendar titled "Studio Sketches" that didn't sell very well. Later in his life, he became more of a cartoon artist and ended pu moving as far away as possible from MacPherson's influence.

Gil Elvgren

"Stepping Out" by Gil Elvgren

30x24in

Oil on Canvas

"Finders Keepers" by Gil Elvgren

28x33in

Oil on Canvas

1945 (calender)

     Gil Elvgren was born in St. Paul Minnesota, 1914. As a young man he would collect hundreds of covers from magazines and over time the tear outs would start to pile up, month after month where he later had a collection that influence his talent to draw.  He graduated at the age of 22 from the Minneapolis Art Institute, where he begun a career at an advertising agency where he contributed work for Coco Cola ads. In 1937 he worked for one of America's leading publishing companies where he started painting calendar pin-ups. In 1944, Gil was offered a $1000 per pin-up where he produced 20 calender girls each year. He used models that were around the age 20 and use their spunky personality to gain ideas for his work.  The artwork revealed women in embarrassing moments such as wind gusts blowing up dresses getting caught in elevator doors or dogs leashes wrapping their legs. Gil Elvgren's work was most in not all done on oil on canvas and painted 30x24in. Gil stated, "A gal with highly mobile facial features capable of a wide range of expressions is the real jewel, the face is the personality."

      He became a household name and was known to be the best pin-up artist in the world.  Gil's paintings led the phrase ,"A picture is worth a thousand words." 

Arnold Armitage

"Country Girl" by Arnold Armitage

10x12

Oil on Canvas

1948

"A refreshing break" by Arnold Armitage

21x45in

Oil on canvas

1940

    

      Arnold Armitage was born in 1899, he was a british artist, and moved to the United States in 1925.  He settled in Hollwood where he began building his career in producing billboards for Foster and Kleiser company.  He then started to work for another pinup artist named Gil Elvgren where they were famous for "pretty girls."  He specialized in painting country girls with golden blonde hair in elegant way where it was popular in the United States and Britain.  He died in 1991 at the age of 92years old.

Zoe Mozert

"Bewitching Eyes" by Zoe Mozert

10x12in

Pastel on board

1953 (model, Jean Harlow)

"Irresistible" By Zoe Mozert (self portrait)

22x32in

Pastel on illistration board

1930-1932

"June Bride" By Zoe Mozert

21x31in

Pastel on board

1953

     

     Zoe Mozert was born in 1907 and her original name was Alice Adelaide Moser.  She was the most famous female pinup artists of the 20th century for her pastel style art work.  She studied at the Industrial Art Institute in Philadelphia and trained as an illustrator.  Throughout the 40s and 50s she work for Brown and Bigelows most known for their calendars.  Mozert took pictures of herself and posed in mirrors to get ideas for her paintings.  She had lots of covers for magazines such as the Pulp and Heart's American Weekly. Some of her famous artwork appeared in Paramount Pictures and some in Howard Hughes posters such as The Outlaw.

    Once the war hit she became an icon with soldiers and her pinup pictures. She was both a model and an artist which made people love her more. She was also famous for her Victory Girls series. When WW2 hit she made postcards of pinup models in military uniforms. 

     Zoe Mozert is one of my favorite pinup artists with her vibrant pastel colors, its so beautiful to look at.

George Petty

"Rigid Tool Calendar" By George Petty

17x14in

Water color and oil

1952-1953

"Bell hop" By George Petty

27x20.5in

Water color and oil

1948

     

    George Petty was born in Abbeville, Louisiana in 1894 and died in 1974 at the age of  80.  His art skills showed up in high school where he charged classmates $5 to teach art to others. He was influenced by his father who had a photo shop and that's where George learned to airbrush.  In 1916, he studied at the Academia Julian in Paris France until all Americans were sent home due to WW1.  George settled in Chicago and started painting calenders and covers for the magazine, The Household. He then opened his own studio where his career would bloom. 

     George would go down in history for his work "The Petty Girl."  Petty started the Petty Girl for the military as they were deployed in WW11.  His drawings would be sent overseas to soldiers to help them to get through tough times of being away from home.  Pettys art was an icon in the military, as the Petty Girls were drawn on the nose of the aircraft.  The Petty Girl was so popular it became a movie.

     The girl next store is how you would describe his art. His work appeared in the magazine, Esquire.  The art would be either be the cover of the magazine or center folds, advertising with girls on tools (as we see above with the rigid tool or calenders.

    George had made his work where the lines were simple and sometimes non existent.  The girls legs were made to be longer and their heads drawn smaller. Petty said his favorite model would be his first that ever posed for him, which was his wife, and then later his daughter would pose for his art.  His son would also be in his drawings as the Petty girls date.  Sure enough with Petty making this a family affair he would go down in history.  He's an amazing artist with skills of using watercolors and an airbrush, this has made him stand out from the other pinup artists.

    

Art Frahm

"A Fare Loser" by Art Frahm

16x20

Oil on canvas

1953

"Jackhammer" By Art Frahm

16x20

Oil on canvas

1954



      Art Frahm was born in 1907 and past away in 1981 at the age of 74. He lived in Chicago where is work was active from the 1940s through the 1960s.  He described his work as "ladies in distress."  Art Frahm's art was about women losing their panties in hectic situations while holding a bag of groceries.  His paintings were cartoon like and had faces like a doll.  Frahm did not only make pinup pictures but painted for Coca Cola, Quaker Oats and Coppertone. 
        The pictures above depicted women in daily activities, showing them walking a dog walking with groceries and getting on a bus.  In the "a fare loser" there's a Northern  European Renaissance history with the bus driver's reflection in the mirror as did the Jan Van Eyck in Arnolfini and His Bride, 1434.  Art still has his work out today in calendars and advertising.

Conclusion

     While grouping pinup artists together, it was quite a challenge finding many of the images online. Many of the pinups found either had no dimensions or no background information.
     The artists and artwork that were included, however, were all unique. Before creating this exhibition, we saw pinup art as all the same. After creating this, we realized that each different artist had their own reasons for their art. Some specifically chose younger girls as models to create a more spunky and quirky image when others chose mature women to create a sophisticated appeal.
     As curators of this exhibition, it was most interesting to find out that many of the pinup artists worked together. For example, the advertisers for Coke-A-Cola all created similar artwork just at different times. Connections between the pinup artists played a large role in making this exhibition operate so well.

Hope you enjoyed it!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CoKJEPsa9JQ&feature=email