Who is Fritz Willis?
Willis, the final successor to Earl Mac Pherson in the Brown & Bigelow “S= ketchbook” series, is perhaps the last major pin-up artist and the only o= ne truly reflecting the sexual revolution. Primarily known for depicting = brazenly sensual ’60s women in semi-nude disarray, Willis has only a supe= rficial similarity to Elvgren, the innocent girls next door of the latter= having little to do with the wanton women of the former. Oklahoma-born Willis had a distinguished career in magazine illustration.= His clients included Collier’s, Redbook, and The Saturday Evening Post, = and his association with Esquire made him one of that magazine’s earliest= entries in its ultimately vain attempt to create a new Petty or Varga. Collectors should be on the lookout for Willis’ how-to art books for Walt= er Foster.
