Earl MacPherson: Pin-Up Art
(1954 - Walter T. Foster Publications)

[-BELOW THE LINE-] Note that this entire 30-page staple-bound book was reprinted inside of the Italian publication Glamour International (2nd Series) # 22 (though that volume isn't much easier to find or more reasonably priced . . .). About half the pages here also appear to be reprinted in the publisher's larger compendium HOW TO DRAW & PAINT PIN-UPS AND GLAMOUR GIRLS. Most of Earl MacPherson's pin-up art was featured in numerous wall-calendars in the 'sketchbook' type that he pioneered, a central finished image intermixed with several sketchy vignettes, as if the page came right out of an artist's sketchbook. This book seems to have been more of an excuse to reprint and get more mileage out of some of those calendar pages. The published text is very perfunctory and the narrative says that MacPherson wishes the art student to get more out of studying the images, finished & unfinished, to discern their traits. Included are a number of model photographs from which pieces were worked up from. The budding artist might find valuable the many brief hand-written notes found throughout that highlight some detail of a composition. Sub-titled HOW TO DRAW AND PAINT BEAUTIFUL GIRLS - to me, it doesn't seem to live up to that very much, but I've seen no shortage of commentary that the book is a classic 'go-to' for the basics in this art arena. I'd be hard-pressed to recommend this as an adequate 'collection' of this type of art.