Vargas and Another Type of Fantasy

His Hollywood Set Designs

Better known as the pin-up artist, Alberto Vargas (Peruvian, 1896–1983) dabbled early in his career as a poster and set designer in Hollywood.

Although Vargas did not receive traditional academic training in the arts, he started his career by helping retouch his father’s photographs as a young boy in Peru and later traveling to Europe to study the masterpieces of artists he admired most like Ingres.

After moving to New York to escape World War I, Vargas caught the eye of Florenz Ziegfeld and was hired to depict the Ziegfeld Follies for over a decade. He also became a freelancer in advertising for various clients and even began working for Paramount Pictures. With the looming Great Depression, Vargas and his wife moved to Hollywood in the 1930s. Upon arriving, he found a change in scenery working for the movie industry.

Despite his short stint in the “moving pictures” business in California, Vargas was quite prolific. He was commissioned by Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox to depict their stars in the most flattering light.