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Elvgren: His Life & Art
The most popular World War II pin-up calendars featured the sexually attractive girl-next-door types painted by American illustrator Gil Elvgren. This abundantly illustrated volume offers a look at the artist and his life and work. Numerous photographs of models, taken by the artist, are shown next to his finished calendar art, allowing study of Elvgren's transformation of the subjects according to his vision. 10.5x12.5 Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
- GenresArt
194 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1998
About the author
Gil Elvgren
27 books8 followersBorn in St. Paul, Minnesota, Elvgren attended University High School and after graduation, he studied art at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts before moving to Chicago to study at the American Academy of Art. He graduated the Academy during the depression at the age of 22 and went into advertising.
Then he became strongly influenced by the early so-called 'pretty girl' illustrators, such as the legendary Charles Dana Gibson and others such as Andrew Loomis, and Howard Chandler Christy. In 1937 he began painting calendar pin-ups for Louis F. Dow, one of America's leading publishing companies and during World War II his work was reproduced on American aircraft.
He was so successful in the field, thus began his work on pin-ups, which continued until the 1970s. And he began to produce an annual calendar, which ran to a number of editions.
During the 1940s and 1950s he illustrated stories for many magazines, such as 'The Saturday Evening Post' and 'Good Housekeeping' and it is reputed that he produced over 500 paintings of beautiful girls and women through the 1950s to the 1970s.
Then he became strongly influenced by the early so-called 'pretty girl' illustrators, such as the legendary Charles Dana Gibson and others such as Andrew Loomis, and Howard Chandler Christy. In 1937 he began painting calendar pin-ups for Louis F. Dow, one of America's leading publishing companies and during World War II his work was reproduced on American aircraft.
He was so successful in the field, thus began his work on pin-ups, which continued until the 1970s. And he began to produce an annual calendar, which ran to a number of editions.
During the 1940s and 1950s he illustrated stories for many magazines, such as 'The Saturday Evening Post' and 'Good Housekeeping' and it is reputed that he produced over 500 paintings of beautiful girls and women through the 1950s to the 1970s.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
April 22, 2023
Informative and has beautiful art. I enjoyed getting to see his reference photos versus his final product.
That being said it only grazed the surface and I feel there was a missed opportunity to go not only in-depth about his life, career and technique as well but show a much wider breath of his work. He did so many pieces, this book only had a fraction.
Still, this was a well put together book. I found it full of helpful information as an artist myself. Definitely worth reading.
That being said it only grazed the surface and I feel there was a missed opportunity to go not only in-depth about his life, career and technique as well but show a much wider breath of his work. He did so many pieces, this book only had a fraction.
Still, this was a well put together book. I found it full of helpful information as an artist myself. Definitely worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review