The Art of Pin-Up

In the 15 years since TASCHEN released The Great American Pin-up, international interest in this distinctly American art form has increased exponentially. Paintings by leading artists such as Alberto Vargas, George Petty, and Gil Elvgren that sold for $ 2,000 in 1996 are going for $ 200,000 and more today. Pin-up--drawings, paintings, and pastels of an idealized female face and figure intended for public display--was produced between 1920 and 1970 for use on calendars, magazine covers, and centerfolds. The majority of original paintings were discarded by publishers and calendar companies after printing, making the surviving art that much more precious. Today its popularity is huge, and ripe for an equally huge and truly comprehensive Collector's Edition.

Formidably sized, The Art of Pin-up is an impressive book that will be coveted by casual fans as well as hardcore pin-up collectors. The top 10 artists are profiled in depth. Each chapter opens with a tipped-in reproduction of an original calendar or magazine cover by that artist. The reproduction quality of the paintings, pastels, and preparatory sketches that follow--largely sourced from the original art--invites the viewer to trace the brushstrokes, while the exquisite period calendars, vintage prints, and original model photos document the artists' creative process. Much of these ephemera were photographed on-site at the historic Brown & Bigelow Company, home to the world's largest archive of vintage pin-up calendars.

In addition to the chapters on the 10 featured artists, the book includes thumbnail bios and representative art of 85 additional artists, the most complete compendium of pin-up artists ever compiled. All this adds up to a hard-to-beat book on this popular subject.

Author: Sarahjane Blum, Louis Meisel
Publisher: Taschen
Published: 09/23/2014
Pages: 546
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 14.40lbs
Size: 20.40h x 15.10w x 4.00d
ISBN: 9783836535700

About the Author
The editor:
Dian Hanson was born in Seattle in 1951. For 25 years she produced various men's magazines, including "Puritan," "Juggs" and "Leg Show," before becoming TASCHEN's sexy book editor in 2001. Her many books for TASCHEN include "The New Erotic Photography Vol. 2 "and "Robert Crumb: Sketchbooks 1982-2011." She lives in Los Angeles.
The contributing authors:
Sarahjane Blum is an author, cultural historian, and co-owner of Grapefruit Moon Gallery, which specializes in original American illustration art. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Louis Meisel is owner of one of the oldest pin-up and illustration art galleries in New York. He is the co-author of TASCHEN's "The Great American Pin-up" and "Gil Elvgren: All his Glamorous American Pin-ups."


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