Behold the Classic Pin-Ups of David Corden

Long before we had Instagram models, pin-ups ruled the mid-20th century. Pin-up modeling began during the late 1800s but found popularity during the 1940s and ’50s. It earned its name because the posters were designed to be pinned onto a wall and were commonly sold in magazines, newspapers, calendars and on postcards. Pin-up models were typically glamour models, fashion models and actresses, with some of the most prominent being Bettie Page, Bunny Yeager, Rita Hayworth, Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe.

In addition to pin-up photography flourishing during this time, many painters gained prominence. Two of the most well known were Alberto Vargas and Gil Elvgren. Vargas gained notoriety publishing his pin-ups in “Playboy,” creating 152 paintings for the publication over a 16 year span. His work continues to be wildly celebrated to this day, with one of his Vargas girls, titled “Trick or Treat,” going for $71,700 at a Christie’s auction in 2003. Elvgren was best known for creating pin-up art for calendars, which were sold by Brown and Bigelow. He also had a number of other successful commercial collaborations, working with companies such as Coca-Cola, General Electric and Sealy Mattress Company.

Today, pin-ups are commonly found in the tattoo world and if you’re a fan of “Ink Master,” you recognize what a challenge they can be. Pin-up tattoos are a classic, but it’s difficult achieving the correct proportions on a small scale. It’s easy to tell when something is off in the drawing of a pin-up, whether that be the hands, feet or God forbid, the face. If you want a pin-up tattoo, you need to seek someone out who can execute an anatomically accurate design and who better than David Corden? David Corden is a Scotland-based portrait artist who has mastered the full body pin-up tattoo. His pin-ups transport us back in time and we’d be lucky to get one of his interpretations of Vargas’ or Elvgrens’ paintings. Take a look at some of his best pin-up tattoos in the gallery below, then let us know your thoughts on pin-up art in the comments section on social media.