Art on Exmoor since 1893

Vintage Prints : David Wright [Biography]

David Wright

David Wright

David Wright was one of the leading pin-up artists of the 20th Century. David Wright was born in London on 12 December 1912, to parents who were both artists. When he was thirteen his father died, and Wright had to leave school to get a job. In 1930 he joined the studio of his uncle Gilbert Wright, who drew for The Graphic, as an assistant artist. Wright worked as a fashion illustrator for women's weekly magazines, and in 1936 married Esme Little.

After the outbreak of war in 1939 Wright was commissioned by The Sketch to produce a series of full colour pin-ups, the first being loosely inserted into the issue for January 1941. Wright continued to draw the series after he was called up into the army, serving as a driving instructor in Wales, after being turned down by the RAF. The series of Lovelies showed glamorous women in various states of undress, many of them modelled on his wife Esme. They ran to a hundred and sixty-nine inserts and one cover, and were later said to have adorned practically every military mess, bunker, dormitory or club room in the country”
Unlike his American contemporaries Alberto Vargas and Gil Elvgren, the British-born Wright brought a sense of realism to his willowy beauties, who appeared in publications on both sides of the Atlantic, especially during WW2

David Wright

David Wright

David Wright was one of the leading pin-up artists of the 20th Century. David Wright was born in London on 12 December 1912, to parents who were both artists. When he was thirteen his father died, and Wright had to leave school to get a job. In 1930 he joined the studio of his uncle Gilbert Wright, who drew for The Graphic, as an assistant artist. Wright worked as a fashion illustrator for women's weekly magazines, and in 1936 married Esme Little.

After the outbreak of war in 1939 Wright was commissioned by The Sketch to produce a series of full colour pin-ups, the first being loosely inserted into the issue for January 1941. Wright continued to draw the series after he was called up into the army, serving as a driving instructor in Wales, after being turned down by the RAF. The series of Lovelies showed glamorous women in various states of undress, many of them modelled on his wife Esme. They ran to a hundred and sixty-nine inserts and one cover, and were later said to have adorned practically every military mess, bunker, dormitory or club room in the country”
Unlike his American contemporaries Alberto Vargas and Gil Elvgren, the British-born Wright brought a sense of realism to his willowy beauties, who appeared in publications on both sides of the Atlantic, especially during WW2

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