Рольф Армстронг - один из известнейших американских художников XIX-XX века. Прославил своё имя в различных направлениях в искусстве: в графике, декоративно-прикладном искусстве, живописи, скульптуре. Много внимания в его творчестве было уделено стилю ретро. Рольф Армстронг родился в Сиэтле в 1899 году и вырос на берегу северо-западной части Тихого океана. Армстронг рос в неспокойной обстановке, царившей в те годы на северо-западном побережье Тихого океана. В 1908 году он переехал в Чикаго и поступил в художественный институт, где учился в течение трех лет у у художника Джона Вандерполя (John Vanderpoel). Затем он отправился в Нью-Йорк, где стал учеником художника Роберта Генри (Robert Henri). Спортивный и талантливый, Рольф Армстронг занимался боксом и попутно делал наброски своих будущих рисунков в нью-йорском спортивном клубе.В 1919 году Рольф отправился изучать искусство в Академию Джулиана в Париже. После этого Армстронг создал свою студию в Гринвич Виллидж. В 1921 году он отправился в Санкт-Миннеаполис, где освоил технические аспекты современной издательской деятельности. Будучи перфекционистом по жизни, он хотел, чтобы его работы имели одинаковую "свежесть и передачу цветов" как на бумаге, так и на холсте. Неудивительно, что он отказался работать с фотографиями, а его поиск идеальной модели был бесконечным. Его картины молодых женщин, с сияющими улыбками, с буйными струящимися волосами,стали стандартом для гламурного искусства. И сегодня они являются одними из самых дорогих произведений пин-ап искусства.В 1920-х-1930-х годах работы Армстронга становятся популярными и все великие звезды того времени заказывают ему гламурные портреты - Мэри Пикфорд, Грета Гарбо, Марлен Дитрих, Кэтрин Хепберн... Он пишет бестселлеры и издает календари, и к 1933 году популярность Рольфа достигла такой вышины, что компания Томаса Мерфи заключила контракт с ним на создание более десятка портретов для рекламной компании их продукции. Такой чести удостаивался в свое время только Билли ди Ворс. С 1935 по 1938 го он живет в Голливуде, а затем возвращается в Нью-Йорк... Скончался 22 февраля 1960 года на Гавайских островах, в окружении своего любимого синего океана и тропических ветров. Мастерство Армстронга было смесью великолепной игры света, ярких цветов и превосходного мастерства.+++++++++++++Rolf Armstrong1889-1960From the son of a small town tugboat captain to the Father of American Pin-Up Art, Rolf Armstrong led a full life and had a long and prolific career.Armstrong started his education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where his teachers increasingly recognized his work. The institute was a stepping-stone to Armstrong's successful career in commercial art. Two of the first publications to take a chance on this new talent were Judge and Puck Magazine and Armstrong was an instant success. Eventually Rolf Armstrong's artwork were seen on several covers for the American and Metropolitan Magazine and he had a lengthy tenure doing cover art for College Humor Magazine. His portrait of a male sailor appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.In 1919 Armstrong aligned himself with Brown & Bigelow where he painted countless images for advertising calendar art. During these years along side Maxfield Parrish and Norman Rockwell, Armstrong was this prestigious calendar company's star artist and an eager public awaited next months Armstrong Girl.The character of the women that Armstrong portrayed contrasted that of other artists of the pin-up movement. Armstrong's subjects were strong, confident women. They had an innate femininity and subtle sexuality yet were very much a product of the ongoing American Industrial Revolution. With the development of national advertising and the increasing distribution of magazines, commercial illustrators were in high demand and artists themselves were seen as celebrities. Motion picture film technology created screen stars and movie magazines such as the famed Photoplay sought out illustrators to create cover artwork donning these new faces. Rolf Armstrong's portraits included those of Norma Talmadge, Marion Davies, Bebe Daniels and Greta Garbo. During the same period, he did advertising art for products such as Nehi and Green River Soda, Old Gold Cigarettes and Hires Rootbeer.Today, collectors cherish original examples of his artwork and bids often soar into the ten's of thousands of dollars when they turn up at auction.+++++++++++++Rolf was born as "John Scott" Armstrong on April 21, 1889, Easter Sunday, in Bay City, Michigan. The fourth child of Richard and Harriet (Scott) Armstrong. When and how he picked up the name "Rolf" isn't known.Rolf was the only one of the four Armstrong children to be born in Bay City. His oldest brother, William, and his sister Chula were natives of Michigan (most likely born in St. Clair), but Paul, the youngest child until Rolf's birth two decades later, was born in Missouri according to census information. His father, born in Canada, moved to St. Clair, Michigan in 1850. He worked as a sailor on the Great Lakes until 1857, at which time he he hired on with the U.S. frigate Powhattan which called on ocean ports around the world. His sailing career was temporarily interupted by the Civil War, enlisting with 103rd Ohio regiment. After being discharge he return to St. Clair where he married Harriet Scott on June 7, 1865. In 1870 Richard and Harriet along with their three children moved to West Bay City. Richard purchased his first boat with high hopes of being able to tap into some of the wealth being generated by the booming lumbering industry. In 1881 he put in service the first fire tug on the Great Lakes. Four years later he had fleet of fire boats, which he operated under business name of the "Saginaw River Fire Boats", later he added a passenger boat service and renamed the business the "Boy Line and Fire Boat Company." Ralp was never able to enjoyed the good life of his father's success. By the time he was born the family's most prosperous years were over. Richard's enterprise rapidly declined as the peak years of lumber came to an end and mills began closing. At the same time the railroads were expanding their passenger business at the expense of his boat service. -- Read Richard/s own words as reported in an 1890 newspaper article. The company's fleet of boats operated out of the city docks in Bay City at the foot of Fifth street, which Richard had part ownership in. A lot of these boats were made at the local shipyards of Frank W. Wheeler and James Davidson. Most of their boats carried the trade mark name of "Boy," such as, the News Boy that provide passenger service between Bay City and the company's East Saginaw office. -- Pictured above is a copy of a typical contract the company had with sawmill owners on the shores of the Saginaw River. On the right is one of the company's fire tugs that roamed the river each day ready to respond quickly whenever a fire broke out. In 1892 Richard finally had some good fortune come his way. He landed a contract to provide passenger boat service for the World's Fair being at Chicago in 1893. However, this reprieve was temporary. By 1899 all hope of financial recovery had disappeared. The family home which Richard had built in 1892, on the north east corner of Broadway and 29th street near the Fremont school, was lost in foreclosure proceedings. By the year's end, Richard, feeling ill, left Bay City with his family and headed for Detroit. The move must have been upsetting for the 10 year-old Rolf to leave his friends and the comfort of familiar surrounding and venture off to a new environment of uncertainty. But, it was only the first of a number of moves Rolf would deal with during his youthful years. Only four years after making the moved to Detroit, Rolf's father died in 1903. By now Harriet's children, with the exception of Rolf, were adults, and had their own life to live. William, the oldest, who had developed an interest in mining while in Bay City, decided to move to Seattle, WA, where he could be closer to his gold mine interests in Alaska. Chula married her Bay City sweet heart, John C. Streng. Paul who had ambitions of becoming a playwright, moved to New York City. The year after Richard's death, Harriet and Rolf left Detroit to join William at Seattle. Rolf, now 15 years-old, apparently opted out on schooling, as he took a jobs as a clerk for an ocean steamship agent. I suspected the decision wasn't so much desires to skip school as to help his mother financially. By then Rolf's emerging artist talent must have been more than an enjoyable pass time for him, and he was likely formulating thoughts of turning his talent into a career. After living only four years in Seattle and with nothing more than pocket change, he hopped aboard a train in 1908 and headed for Chicago. There, he must have worked and was able save some money, as he enrolled in the Arts Institute of Chicago. Interesting, is one of the Rolf's jobs was as a boxing instructor, suggesting he at an earlier point in time had some experience in the ring. He also did some tutoring, teaching youngsters the finer points of art. With some formal education in hand, Rolf headed for New York, where his brother Paul was a playwright, and where he would have the greatest opportunity to establish himself as a commerical artist. He apparently found enough free lance work to survive as he was able to rent a studio in Manhattan. Later, his business was properous enough to purchase a home in Little Neck Bay at Bay Side, N.Y., and maintain the Manhattan studio for business purposes. Many of Rolf's early paintings typically depicted macho figures, such as; boxers, sailors, cowboys, etc. That tendancy towards the male dominate figure took a twist in 1912. He land a commission with Judge Magazine to the artwork on their cover page. Suddenly, pretty young woman became the vogue for Rolf's paintings, a twist that would launch him towards an amazing career as a top-knotch pin-up artist. Perhaps his biggest break came in 1919. Brown and Bigelow, one of the largest suppliers of calendars at that time, hired Rolf to do the artwork. His first painting for them, call "Dream Girl," became Rolf's signature piece. Calendars with his artwork hung from walls of homes and business throughout the country, which quickly made his name and talent well known. In the subsequent years Rolf's paintings would adorn the cover pages of Life Magazine, Shrine Magazine, College Humor Magazine and others. Rolf also did artwork for postcards and advertisements. He had a nice contract for ads sell the products of Onieda Silverware. Even the rich and famous began calling on Rolf to their portrait, including Hollywood stars, like Constance Bennett, whose painting is feature on the right. The Hollywood connection Rolf evolved into close relationships with the likes of James Gagny, Boris Karloff, Henry Fonda, and other great movie actors. His work was recognized by experts who proclaimed him "the best American pin-up artist" of his era. His unique use of the pastel medium of colors set a standard that many subsequent artists followed. His mastery of pastels, turned out painting as beautiful as the models who posed for them. The only limiting factor in representation was size of the canvas, which typical measured 39 x 26 inches. Some of the youngest artist that emulated Rolf's techniques included Billy De Vorss, Earl Morand and Zoe Mozert, each became famous in their own rights as pin-up artists. Not bad for a kid who had such a humble beginning. Besides a passion for art, Rolf was an avid sailor, a desired he may have inherited from his father who sailed on the Great Lakes. For Rolf, putting the sail to the wind was something he did as often he could. He seldom was seen without his captain's hat, which he wore during his painting sessions. Nothing was more enticing, nor inviting, than competitive sailing for him. Rolf enter the Canoe Championship of America races held in 1000 Islands, New York whenever he could. He won the championship "Mab Trophy" in his sleek sail canoe named, "Mannikin". Over the years he had many sailing compansions who were prominent personalities. But, none more often than his friend James Cagney of movie fame. During the 1850s, Rolf retired from the rigors and demanding schedule required in a running a business as full-time commercial artist. He moved to Hawaii in 1959, which was his home for the balance of his life -- unfortunately, his time to enjoy years his retirement was short. John Scott "Rolf" Anderson died in February of 1960. The appeal of Rolf's paintings is timeless. Much like Rockwell and other artist of this era, the popularity his renderings will live beyond his generation. One has only observe his life-like paintings to understand and appreicate why he is considered amoung the best artist of the 20th Century. Two book have been written about and his name in many other books written about great artists -- Rolf is usually mentioned at or near the top of the list.