Pinup History XVI: Gil Elvgren

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Pinup History XVI: Gil Elvgren

cheese-cake (noun):1. A cake made of sweetened cottage cheese or cream cheese, eggs, milk, sugar, and flavorings.2. Informal Photographs of minimally attired women.American illustrator Gil Elvgren is often referred to as the “Cheesecake King” and when you look at his work it’s easy to see why – it’s hard to not want to take a bite out of all his deliciously sweet and sassy pinup girls.

Gil Elvgren is known as the “Normal Rockwell of Pinup”

His work spanned more than four decades and resulted in hundreds of iconic paintings, many of which are worth thousands of dollars today. Not only was Elvgren able to capture the glamour and beauty of the women of the era, but he also captured the spirit of the times – from the war effort in the 1940s to the changing ideals of the Baby Boomers in the 1950s and 1960s. While he is most known for his glamorous pinups, Elvgren also had close relationships with Coca-Cola and other companies and worked on various magazines when he wasn’t enhancing busts or cinching waists.

Elvgren’s Coca-Cola ads captured the mindset of the time and are now considered glimpses into America’s past.Elvgren was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1914. He went to college to become an architect but after taking art classes in Chicago in the early 1930s, he realized he was better at sketching women’s bodies than buildings.

His leggy ladies with their playful pouts were huge hits.

He got his big break painting a portrait of the Dionne Quintuplets in 1937 for the company Brown & Bigelow but he left to work for their competitor Dow, creating pinups and other images for the company.

To pluck or not to pluck – that is the question in this painting from 1956

In 1944 he was approached by Brown & Bigelow to become a staff artist – their offer of $24,000 a year quickly made him one of the highest paid illustrators in the country. It also allowed him to paint nudes and play around with his own style. His images were so popular that the company encouraged him to create other products such as a curvaceous mail opener and pinup lamps that were big sellers.

Looks like this little lady has a big boo-boo.

Elvgren’s pinups were so popular that rising starlets and actresses were fighting to have him make them the subject of his next painting. A young Kim Novak modeled for Elvgren at one point. When looking for a model, he often looked at their face first to see if their personality shone through, then he would add the necessary enhancements to the finished product. He was known for highlighting perky breasts, cinched, small waists and long legs revealing sexy stockings.

Elvgren photographed models then enhanced their features for the finished pinups.

In 1956, lured by the sun and sand, Elvgren and his family moved to Florida where he continued to work closely with models and turned to his family for inspiration and ideas. The new location helped rekindle his creativity and he continued painting sun-kissed beauties into the 1970s. Elvgren died in Florida in 1980 after battling cancer but his lusty ladies live on.

Looks like one of Elvgren’s girls is in a pickle again!

Dream Beauties

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