Product Description

Post-depression America was in desperate need of a defining iconography that would lift it out of the black and white doldrums, and it came in theform of Gil Elvgren's Technicolor fantasies of the American dream. His technique-which earned him a reputation as "The Norman Rockwell of cheesecake"-involved photographing models and then painting them into gorgeous hyper-reality, with longer legs, more flamboyant hair and gravity-defying busts, and in the process making them the perfect moral-boosting eye-candy for every homesick private.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12966 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: German
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 271 pages

Review
"Glamour is back... TASCHEN offers us a look back at these calendar and advertisement goddesses of which Gil Elvgren is king." erotisme-fr.com, France"

About the Author
Louis K. Meisel is owner and manager of one of the oldest contemporary art galleries in Soho, New York. He has published monographs on Charles Bell and Richard Estes, as well as the books Photorealism and Photorealism Since 1980. Charles G. Martignette is an art dealer, art historian, journalist, and writer. Pictures from his collection have been exhibited in the Smithsonian Institution as well as many other American and European museums.

Customer Reviews

Desirability personified!
Without any knowledge; yet a curious fascination for a bygone era, I perused many of the illustrators famous for their cheesecake-girl-next-door pin ups of the fifties on the web. Gil Elvgren came up tops! As Rockwell held a mirror up to the American public, Elvgren manage to evoke Rockwellesque subtleties into his work too. Your eyes are attracted to the girls, however, other elements like a dog, a turtle, a prop like a diary, add to the charm of the work and to the total innocence of the girls. Living in the current "Raunch Culture" where female nudity is pervasive, this book transports you back to another time where the girls exude a level of desirability that Elvgren perfectly captured in his work. The luscious and lovingly delivered colour plates (some 500 of them) demonstrate Elvgren's evolution into the auteur of pin up illustrators, as he progressively developed real depth into to his work. This book is a perfect introduction to an incredible genius and an incredible artform

Interesting Book
I'm still studying and reading through it, but it has an interesting magic that's missing in many of today's similar subjects - innocence.

The product is just as gorgeous as the subject matter!
This book is absolutely beautiful. Lots and lots of color - designed and bound very well. Worth every penny and then some. Impressed with Amazon's service (my first order) and the whole shopping/purchase experience here.