The Petty Girls

George Brown Petty IV (27 April 1894 – 21 July 1975) was an American pin-up artist. His pin-up art appeared primarily in Esquire and Fawcett Publications's True but was also in calendars marketed by Esquire, True and Ridge Tool Company. Petty's Esquire gatefolds originated and popularized the magazine device of centerfold spreads. Reproductions of his work were widely rendered by military artists as nose art decorating warplanes during the Second World War, including the Memphis Belle, known as “Petty Girls”.

George Petty was born in Abbeville, Louisiana to George Brown Petty III and his wife, Sarah. George IV was the couple's second child; his sister Elizabeth had been born in 1891.

The Petty family moved to Chicago, Illinois just before the turn of the century, where George III, a photographer of some note, enjoyed considerable success. Today, it's possible to find his photographs of young women, madonnas and nudes anywhere from coast to coast.

Petty died in San Pedro, California.

George Petty was not a particularly good student in high school spending a great deal of time on extracurricular activities instead of schoolwork. His artistic bent first became obvious in high school where he was the staff artist for the school newspaper.

During his high school years, he enrolled in evening classes at Chicago's Art Institute and taught his own art course, charging classmates US$5.00 per session. He also worked in his father's photo shop where he learned how to use an airbrush.

Petty studied art at the Académie Julian with Jean-Paul Laurens and others until 1916, when World War I caused Joseph P. Herrick, ambassador at that time, to order all Americans to return home.

Petty returned to Chicago, and worked as an airbrush retoucher for a local printing company. He was able to establish himself as a freelance art, painting calendar girls and magazine covers for The Household. By 1926, he was able to open his own studio.

Petty is especially known for “the Petty Girl”, a series of pin-up paintings of women done for Esquire from the Autumn of 1933 until 1956. Petty frequently depicted these women with the relative lengths of their legs being longer — and the relative sizes of their heads being smaller — than those of his actual models.

Also see A portfolio from Esquire

A couple of amples of George Petty Illustrations below.