KU to display WWII pinups for art exhibition during Dole dedication

World War II veterans will have a chance to reunite with the "Memphis Belle" and Varga Pinups at the Spencer Museum of Art this summer. The pinups are part of an exhibition in conjunction with the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics dedication July 19-22 at the University of Kansas.

The exhibit will include George Petty's "Memphis Belle," which adorned the nose of one of the first B-17 bombers to complete 25 missions over Europe during WWII, and six watercolors by Alberto Vargas, who was known for his "Varga Pinups." Esquire magazine published the works in the 1940s.

The pieces will be on display in the north balcony on the fourth floor of the art museum along with works by Stevan Dohanos, Albert Dorne, Milton Caniff, Robert Sudlow and Morris Graves.

Stephen Goddard, senior curator at the museum, said the works should be familiar to veterans and other members of the "Greatest Generation."

"The pinups that appeared in Esquire magazine during the war were readily available to U.S. troops through the magazine's special overseas edition," Goddard said. "They were morale boosters, and in some instances they were also reminders of the roles held by women in the war effort stateside. Vargas' pinups also appeared regularly as nose art on aircraft and on the conning towers of submarines."

In 1943, Vargas was commissioned by the KU Jayhawker yearbook staff to select that year's beauty queen. According to the yearbook, Vargas wrote that after "considerable vacillation," he "chose a girl who truly has the attributes of beauty, individuality and appeal so generally admired and frequently envied."

Vargas selected Grace McCandless, who for a time was underclassman Bob Dole's girlfriend.

The Esquire collection came to KU in December 1980 and includes not only the Vargas watercolors but also photographs by Diane Arbus, paintings by science fiction illustrator Chesley Bonestell and caricatures by David Levine.

For more information about the exhibit and museum hours, call (785) 864-4710. Because of the special exhibit, the museum will be open Monday, July 21, to accommodate visitors taking part in the Dole celebration.