Varga

The Varga Girls, created by Alberto Vargas for Esquire magazine in the 1940's, are among the most enduring images of American popular culture. Collectors have been known to pay up to $300,000 for original Vargas paintings from his pre- and post-Esquire days. The subtle and tasteful eroticism of these paintings is one obvious reason for their popularity. But to write the Varga Girls off as simple pinups is to miss the nuances that set them apart from that genre. In the best of these paintings, Vargas's passion and reverence for women comes shining through.