Alberto Vargas
Vargas Girl--"What show are you watching?"
Estimate: 20.000 - 30.000 USD
Price realised: 21.510 USD
Price realised: 21.510 USD
Description
Alberto Vargas (1896-1983)
Vargas Girl--"What show are you watching?"
signed 'Vargas' (lower right)
watercolor and pencil on illustration board
30 x 20 in. (76.2 x 50.8 cm.)
RUN DATE: May 1961.
"The wondrous long-limbed dream girls of Alberto Vargas captivated men's hearts for nearly a century. Vargas began his career in the Twenties as a poster artist for Flo Ziegfeld and his Ziegfeld Follies, and married one of his first models. When the Follies closed in the Thirties, Vargas switched to Hollywood and began illustrating movie-studio posters. Being blacklisted for union activity, he turned his hand to World War Two pinups for Esquire that became world famous. His introduction to Playboy's readers came [in a] March 1957 pictorial, and his Vargas Girls appeared exclusively in nearly every issue of Playboy from 1960 to 1978. It was the happiest and most productive relationship of his career" (Gretchen Edgren, The Playboy Book: Forty Years, Los Angeles, 1994, p. 50).
Vargas Girl--"What show are you watching?"
signed 'Vargas' (lower right)
watercolor and pencil on illustration board
30 x 20 in. (76.2 x 50.8 cm.)
RUN DATE: May 1961.
"The wondrous long-limbed dream girls of Alberto Vargas captivated men's hearts for nearly a century. Vargas began his career in the Twenties as a poster artist for Flo Ziegfeld and his Ziegfeld Follies, and married one of his first models. When the Follies closed in the Thirties, Vargas switched to Hollywood and began illustrating movie-studio posters. Being blacklisted for union activity, he turned his hand to World War Two pinups for Esquire that became world famous. His introduction to Playboy's readers came [in a] March 1957 pictorial, and his Vargas Girls appeared exclusively in nearly every issue of Playboy from 1960 to 1978. It was the happiest and most productive relationship of his career" (Gretchen Edgren, The Playboy Book: Forty Years, Los Angeles, 1994, p. 50).
Auction result well in line with expectations
In December 2003 Christies in New York held the auction PLAYBOY AT 50, which included the work Vargas Girl--"What show are you watching?" by Alberto Vargas. The estimated price for the artwork was previously given by the auction house with a range of USD 20,000.00 – 30,000.00, the actual price achieved of USD 21,510.00 (€ 17,075.49) could thus just exceed the lower estimate. However, buyers have had to dig much deeper into their pockets for other works by Alberto Vargas - we have observed the highest auction result to date for the work Vargas Girl--"Trick or treat?", which sold at auction in December 2003 for USD 71,700.00 (€ 56,918.31).
Auktionsergebnis im Rahmen der Erwartungen
Im Dezember 2003 führte Christies in New York die Auktion PLAYBOY AT 50 durch, in der auch die Arbeit Vargas Girl--"What show are you watching?" von Alberto Vargas zur Versteigerung kam. Der Schätzpreis für das Kunstwerk wurde von dem Auktionshaus zuvor mit einer Spanne von USD 20.000,00 – 30.000,00 angegeben, der tatsächlich erzielte Preis von USD 21.510,00 (€ 17.075,49) konnte den unteren Schätzpreis somit knapp übertreffen. Für andere Arbeiten von Alberto Vargas mussten die Käufer allerdings auch schon deutlich tiefer in die Tasche greifen – das bisher höchste Auktionsergebnis haben wir für die Arbeit Vargas Girl--"Trick or treat?" beobachtet, die im Dezember 2003 für USD 71.700,00 (€ 56.918,31) versteigert wurde.
Alberto Vargas - Auction history
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