Robert Blue
Robert Blue (1946; his Variety obituary gives his age at death as 50 but does not provide a birth year. If he was indeed born in 1946, he would have been 52. – January 22, 1998).
Robert Blue was a painter noted for his images of pin-up girls in the 1980s and later his cowgirls of the New West series. He was the son of comedic actor Ben Blue. His work precedes that of Patrick Nagel, who had a similarly stark style. Collectors of Blue's art have included Jack Nicholson, Barbra Streisand and Hugh Hefner, as well as numerous corporate collectors, including the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Los Angeles, and the Atlanta Hilton Motel.
Biography
Blue was born in Los Angeles in 1946, and grew up in Beverly Hills, California. He served in the United States Army and attended the California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. Blue served as chairman of fine art at Assn. in Art, Van Nuys, California.
In 1979, Blue joined Brian Davis to form the Davis-Blue Artwork publishing company. This company published a number of dramatic posters, including some by illustrator Major Felten.
Blue succumbed to brain tumor in Santa Monica, California in 1998, and the Robert Blue Foundation to aid brain cancer victims was instituted in his memory. He was survived by his wife, Linda, and his brother, Tom.
Blue's art was featured in the 1974 film The Second Coming of Suzanne, and also 1984's Heartbreakers (1984 film), which was loosely based on Blue himself. His work also appeared in the 1982 Richard Elfman film Forbidden Zone.
Announcement
Robert Blue is back. After an extended sabbatical of more than ten years, America's premier fetish artist has picked up his brush again. In the 1970s Blue gained fame for his life-size bondage and fetish oil paintings of Betty Page. In 1974 he began a series of 25 paintings celebrating the 1950s pinup queen.
Then, without warning, Blue cancelled his Betty Page series. He was told that the mysterious model, who vanished in the late 1950s, was in hiding and did not want the attention that the artist revived with his homage. Blue complied. "How could I not? Betty Page was an icon I loved. I couldn't paint her against her wishes."
Although Robert Blue stopped painting her, the Betty Page revival that he set in motion could not be stopped. In the 1980s Betty's popularity exploded as she grew from cult icon into an international phenomenon.
Blue, still believing that Page did not approve, did not exploit the Betty craze.
He turned down requests for new paintings and refused to publish his old canvases as prints.
His disappearance from the fetish scene made Blue a legend in his own right, and in 1985 he inspired the movie Heartbreakers.
Directed by Bobby Roth and starring Peter Coyote as an artist obsessed with painting fetish art, the movie featured many of Blue's paintings and sealed his status as the Helmut Newton of erotic art.
Sadly, Robert Blue's source of information was a fraud, and Betty Page had never sent the message that ended the series. Then the incredible happened. Last year Betty Page emerged from seclusion, contacted Robert Blue and urged him to complete the series of 25 paintings he began more than two decades ago. Blue has already painted four new canvases, and he expects to complete the series within two years.
In honor of Betty's return. Blue has, for the first time, published prints of his Betty art. He has chosen six of his favorite vintage and current paintings-Wagon Wheel, In Bed With Betty, Ottoman, Model Spank, Blonde and Banana Leaf-to reproduce as museum-quality, limited-edition prints.
Each painting will be printed in an edition limited strictly to 150 numbered prints, of which only 130 will be available for sale. Each print will be published in oversize format, on paper of the highest quality-handmade Arches paper imported from France. The heavy paper weight, deckled edges and fine printing give each print the appearance of an original, hand-painted watercolor. When Biue unveiled samples of the prints, many viewers believed that they were actually unique originals.
In addition to being beautiful works of art, the prints have lasting historical significance because Robert Blue and Betty Page will sign each print-the first works of fine art ever signed by Page!
As soon as Blue announced the prints, they became must-haves for enthusiasts of Betty Page, fetish and erotica. In addition to offering his prints through a formal catalog and traditional art galleries, Blue is eager to see his art carried by fetish clubs, magazines, boutiques and specialty book shops. "I want to make my work available to the core audience that has supported me for the past 20 years, to the insiders who were part of the Betty Page cult from the beginning."
Robert Blue will exhibit his Betty Page prints and oil paintings in Los Angeles on Sept. 25 and 26, 1995, at Glamourcon, the international art and pinup show dedicated to Betty Page and the great age of glamour art.
Robert Blue died of cancer on January 22, 1998. Born in Los Angeles in 1946, he was known for his paintings and prints of pin-up girls in the 1980's and later his cowgirls of the New West series. He attended California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, and Chouinard Institute in Los Angeles
External links
- http://www.artnet.com/artists/robert-blue/ Robert Blue on Artnet
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