Alberto Vargas (1896-1982) Reclining nude in a stripy swimsuit, pencil on paper, framed, mounted and glazed, 35 x 28 in. Alberto Vargas (9 February 1896 - 30 December 1982) was a noted Peruvian painter of pin-up girls. He is often considered one of the most famous of the pin-up artists. His work was typically a combination of watercolour and airbrush. His mastery of the airbrush is acknowledged by the fact that the highest achievement in the community of airbrush artistry is the Vargas Award, awarded annually by Airbrush Action Magazine. Despite always using figure models, his images would often portray elegantly dressed, semi-nude to nude women of idealized proportions. Vargas' artistic trait would be slender fingers and toes, with nails often painted red. Vargas is widely regarded as one of the finest artists in his genre. He also served as a judge