$100K Vargas pinup art leads $2.3 million Heritage illustration auction
Alberto Vargas (Peruvian/American, 1896-1982), Mara Corday, True Girl, February 1952. Watercolor on board, 30 x 20 inches. Sold for: $100,000.00.
DALLAS, TX
.- One of the most iconic and important pinup images ever created, Alberto Vargas Mara Corday, True Girl, February 1952, sold for $100,000 to lead Heritage Auctions April 30 Illustration Art auction to $2,297,692 in total sales.
The model in the image, Mara Corday, is captured in the signature V-leg pose that was Vargass calling card in her second sitting for the artist he lost the rights to the first, and other images he signed as Varga, in a years-long legal battle with Esquire magazine. Esquire sued the artist for the works signed Vargas in True but ultimately failed. This win and the publication of his nine True Girls including the present work revitalized the artist and his career.