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George Petty was born in Abbeville, Lousiana on April 27, 1894. During his high school years (1909-1913), he assisted his photographer father in his Chicago studio, where he learned to use the airbrush for retouching photos.
He developed his own technique with the airbrush, and became a leader in this new art medium. After studying art at the Academie Julian in Paris from 1914 to 1916, he returned to Chicago, married Julie Donohue in 1918, and by mid-1920s, he was a full time illustrator.
In 1933, George Petty's curvaceous creation, The Petty Girl, made her debut in Esquire's magazine's inagural issue. By 1940, Petty had become a national celebrity and his visibility remained high throughout WWII and into the 1950s. George Petty created the All-American pinup. Without the Petty Girl, there would have been no Varga Girl or Playboy Playmate, for the entire concept of a pin-up was his. Prior to the Petty Girl, there had been the girl on the magazine cover, but never the girl in the magazine. The Petty Girl had become an American icon long before Petty's death in 1975 at the age of 81.
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