Alberto Vargas

Alberto Vargas was born in the city of Arequipa, Peru, on February 9, 1896. No one could have predicted that a humble son from a remote Andean town would create a legacy that both shaped and reflected the ideals of American beauty in the twentieth century.

Alberto's graceful, subtly detailed paintings helped define the iconic image of the pin-up girl and cemented his name in art, Hollywood, and popular culture. Today, through the Max Vargas Collection, Alberto’s legacy lives on.

This page is a living history. As new materials and documentation emerge, additional chapters — including legal history and lesser-known aspects of Alberto’s career — will continue to be added.

Early Years

The son of internationally known photographer Max Vargas I, Alberto’s keen eye was recognized early. As a boy, he assisted in his father’s studio, learning photography, negative retouching, and airbrushing techniques.

In 1911, Alberto was sent to Europe for formal education and artistic training. Exposure to museums in France, Germany, and Switzerland shaped his aesthetic sensibilities until World War I forced his return.

New York and the Follies

Arriving in New York in 1916, Vargas encountered a modern American woman unlike anything he had seen before. He worked as a freelance artist and soon joined Florenz Ziegfeld’s famous Follies.

During this period he met Anna Mae Clift, a showgirl who became his muse and wife. They married in 1930 and would remain deeply in love for more than four decades.

Hollywood

The Roaring Twenties and early 1930s took Vargas to Hollywood, where he worked across nearly every major studio, creating posters, set designs, and portraits of the era’s biggest stars.

A labor dispute in 1939 resulted in his blacklisting and forced a return to New York, marking a pivotal turning point in his career.

Esquire and the Varga Girl

In 1940, Vargas was first published in Esquire Magazine. His pin-ups, christened the “Varga Girls,” became cultural icons during World War II and symbols of home for American servicemen abroad.

Legal disputes in the mid-1940s severed his relationship with Esquire and stripped him of the “Varga Girl” name, closing one of the most influential chapters of his career.

Playboy Years

In 1957, Vargas began a long and successful association with Playboy. The collaboration restored his artistic freedom and secured his place as a defining illustrator of the modern era.

Later Years and Legacy

After Anna Mae’s death in 1974, Vargas gradually withdrew from work. He traveled internationally promoting a retrospective book before passing away in Los Angeles in 1982.

Today, Alberto Vargas’s work remains a touchstone of American illustration, shaping twentieth-century ideals of beauty and artistic expression.