Though the 1950s celebrated feminine curves and also gave birth to pin-up girls, it was still unusual for an icon to sport a fuller, rounder physique. When you hear the words "pin-up girl," the first thing that comes to mind is most likely Marilyn Monroe.
This woman was an icon, defining the pin-up model style. But contrary to the common misconception, she’d be around size two by today’s standards and nowhere near the alleged size 16. With Marilyn still embodying the perfect woman to this day, people sometimes forget about the other pin-up girls—for example, the iconic Hilda.
Created by illustrator Duane Bryers (1911-2012), Hilda was a plus-size girl who was definitely not shy about her chubbiness. Not only was she the only curvy girl in the pin-up game at the time, but she was also hilariously clumsy. Hilda pin-ups graced America’s calendars from around the 1950s to the 1980s, and to celebrate that, we are going to share some of Duane Bryers’ classy illustrations below. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite Hilda pin-up!
(h/t: vintageeveryday)
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Incredible, she is so vibrant and alive, for a moment I actually forgot it was not the real her.
It is "the real her": she's an illustration character.
Load More Replies...I love her perfectly pointed toes and such an amazingly wonderful smile!
...back to the 1st, to say that THIS is my favorite ~ she looks so happy ~!
If the rope should break, she is blessed with a good cushion, and a nice one too.
I vote this one is the best. I so identify with this woman. It’s definitely me!!
She reminds me of Rosmarie Hillcrest, a Playboy Playmate of similar dimensions.
Load More Replies...I have this very photo hanging on a calendar in my barn. It was there when I moved in 19 years ago...still in the same place. "Pink Cocktail Lounge" Valley Lee, MD June 1967. 20221203_1...480354.jpg
Who Drew Hilda Pin-Up?
The author of Hilda, the “unconventionally chubby” pin-up girl, is Duane B. “Dick” Bryers (1911 - 2012) from Tucson, Arizona. He was a painter, sculptor, and illustrator who became famous for his pin-up art.
From murals depicting the mining history of Minnesota to “girlie art” on aircraft fuselages (also called nose art), magazine illustrations, and watercolors depicting the cowboy life, Duane Bryers’ art was truly diverse.
However, what made him really famous was Duane Bryers’ Hilda, the cheerful pin-up model. He made about 250 drawings of her beginning in 1956 and up until the mid-80s. Hilda was just as famous as the other pin-up icon, Bettie Page, whose pictures frequenting all kinds of magazines during the 50s.
ooo its like a play on the tanning cream and the puppy, sort of kind of in a way :P
Me at the lake. Fish creep me out and they are always by my butt and feet. Yuck!
What is The History of Pin-Up Art?
The history of pin-ups begins as early as the 19th century when burlesque performers and actresses started using photographic advertisements both as business cards and as a means to advertise their shows. Later on, it became quite popular to sell these posters to anyone wanting them. Since those posters, and later magazine cut-outs, were usually pinned up somewhere on a wall or inside lockers of G.I.s during WWII, the term stuck, and the girls depicted in those banners started to be called pin-up models.
It’s true that those posters were mostly intended for an aesthetic purpose without any deeper meaning or thought in them, but there were also authors of pin-ups like Duane Bryers with unconventional ideas and whimsical commentary of the cult-like sexualization of women.
even though the art is from the 50s...she still looks damn good skinny dipping
Rubens meets Monet, meets pin up & Duane Bryers <3 LOVE this one!
iconic, like Dante's Beatrice, shows the way between the celestial and the mundane.
This is Hilda. She is a forgotten pin up girl from the 1950's. I think she's completely adorable.
Who Was The Real Hilda?
Hilda’s realistic looks and cheery personality made lots of people believe that she was based on a real woman. However, Bryers denied the speculation by admitting that Hilda's pin-up was purely the creation of his imagination and not a depiction of someone he knew.
The brilliance of Hilda was in the fact that she always satirized the pin-up culture while also embracing its tropes, all that with a fun, adventurous, and very loving attitude. It’s really no wonder that Duane Bryers’ creation became this popular and is well-loved even though decades have passed and trends have changed tremendously.
Now, let’s get back to Hilda’s adventures on our list! And if you love any of them, don’t forget to tell us in the comments.
It looks like the hint of a nipple, but it wouldn't be in proportion if it was.
No matter how long you wait, you always get interrupted during bath time!
This is like getting a call when a person just got into the tub for a nice bubble bath. LOve it. All of these pictures make me smile.
Prob cause there isn't a man around.. I don't mean that in a bad way though..I love mine..but its more simple without
Load More Replies...She looks like the actress Ann-Margret in this one. ann-margre...465078.jpg
Bryers said that there really was no model for Hilda, that he created her in his head. That warms my heart to know that Hilda was his Dream Girl.
Actually he did. He had a few and used them all to create her.
Load More Replies...I love all these! As a plus size model this help me w my confidence!
Loving these pictures! This one is a normal night with my fur family x love it!
My late husband LOVED Hilda, and paintings like this one inspired me to purchase my very own red union suit to surprise him!
This is me every night!! God forbid I move as to disturb my furbabies!! Love this!!😊❤
this is me every night! lol God forbid I move as to disturb my furbabies!! LOVE THIS!
I have this very photo hanging on a calendar in my barn. It was there when I moved in 19 years ago...still in the same place. "Pink Cocktail Lounge" Valley Lee, MD June 1967. 20221203_1...a4b2d4.jpg
When the flour companies realized that ladies were reusing flour sacks as fabric for clothing, they started printing them in patterns!
Load More Replies...What was awesome is that the flour companies saw that and started to use materials with designs. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.littlethings.com/flour-sack-dresses/amp/?client=ms-android-sprint-us
Thank you for that link - I found it quite interesting :)
Load More Replies...I always thought only in Mexico recycled flour bags in the 60s or 70s.
Not cool man. My mother got called that growing up because she was a thick girl.
Load More Replies...My version of pure happiness. I have a tattoo of fireflies escaping a jar on such a dusky evening to represent my retirement. Gorgeous picture.
oh god, I have such a crush on her! I hope to meet and date someone that embodies this.. <3
I love Duane´s work, Hilda is beautiful, the portrait of a real funny lady.
I ❤️ this one. It makes me feel like a child again... swinging and laughing because of the stomach butterflies 🦋. I wasn't curvy as a younger woman, but I am now. This embodies how I feel inside too.
Yes, this IS exactly what the boobies do when you are trying to carry a big heavy load.
You’re so right! Haha. I’m a little envious though...Hilda has amazing breasts throughout all the illustrations!
Load More Replies...That, and there could be some voltage on that wire. 😲
Load More Replies...the storytelling in each and everyone of these is so detailed. #BodyPositivity back when that wasn't a thing, Hilda haz it.
It's mail order, brand new - the box and catalog are on the floor, the tag is indeed on the garment - and they sent a child's instead of an adult's. Look at the length!
She is wearing it in a few pictures! Although she’s bursting out at the back flap, she’s totally rocking it
Load More Replies...These ones with the red flannel speak to me... remind me of my dad and his stories he would tell me of growing up in Cedar Springs Mi, near the red flannel factory
We live about an hour from from Cedar Springs. I love going to the Red Flannel Days. That would have been so cool.
Load More Replies...No, no. This is one size fits all. Trust me, I should know :-)
Load More Replies...It appears she kept the small long Johns ! I love the continuation of the story!
This is so me and I used to be a plus size too before I lost 110 pounds, ROFL!!! I love Hilda!!! <3
The plumbers crack, now is a window washer. And it smells like flowers
This one is my favorite. So intimate the way that Hilda focuses directly on the viewer while showing her baby picture.
I wish I had her body positivity. I have been plus size all my life and probably will be for the remainder of it. Never have been at a normal weight,never will be.😭😭
My first impression was that she'd made another animal friend. I kinda figured it was a stray black kitty.
Load More Replies...She is all the more special in that Duane Bryers did not base her on a real life model, but instead fashioned her from his own imagination and fantasy. 'She's a creation out of my head,' the artist told online pin-up gallery ToilGirls in 2002. 'I had various models over the years, but some of my best Hilda paintings I've ever done were done without a model.' From an interview with the arrist
Load More Replies...My grandmother would stand with her back to the heater, and lift her skirts to trap the warmth underneath. Now, I do this in winter at our fireplace. Lovely feeling!
It looks like she might have been down on her knees before doing this
Anytime you have the chance to lay some pipe it's tons of fun.
Load More Replies...I like to think that she has a big booming laugh that makes everyone else happy.
I think the first time I've noticed she has a pedi, no mani, and she shaves...
It's amazing how much the personality of this imaginary woman comes through in the series - fun-loving, can-do, outside-loving, a little naive.
Did someone chop down her apple 🌳 🤔 picked the 🍎 from the ground left?
I officially have a new role model - she's independent (paints her own house, does her own plumbing even!) fun, sexy, voluptuous. And not complaining one bit at being single. Yup - I wanna be her when I grow up!
And she walks barefoot everywhere (#goals #dreams), and is comfortable in her own skin, not ashamed... damn, I wanna be her too and I’m pretty sure I’m probably older than she is. Lol.
Load More Replies...WOW! I sure would like to know if she has pubic hair or not. Sometimes I can see shadows and other times not.
The water looks hot, the soap and the small towel right at place. I think she's taking it off to have a bath!
Load More Replies...Why do you keep scratching yourself? Because I'm the only one who knows where it itches!
I always imagine Hilda has no one else in the world and she has fun on her own anyway and that's exactly how she loves it.
She was standing next to a white paper birch in one of the illustrations.
Load More Replies...This is so precious! Haven't seen this one before!!!! Way too many faves tho!
Aha! Now we know the secret! Hilda is actually the Mighty Katrinka, and she's waiting for the Toonerville Trolley! ;-)
M Mitchell Marmel, lol!! Not many people will understand, but i have to say Hilda is far sexier than Katrinka.
Load More Replies...Walking the Rails- I did it often- she knows the simple pleasures of life!
So much concentration on her face. Why did the rain have to start NOW/. It was beautiful, and then the heavens opened. 😢
Just like me -- I'll use any convenient slip of paper for a bookmark. 😁
I don't like the ones where she is hurting animals. Not so cute :( Poor fish...
How much does this pinup cost or how much is it worth im buying one for a gift
Ya got ta prime that pump ... work that handle like there's a fire ... ("Desert Pete", Kingston Trio 1963)
I can almost hear her voice belting it out in this picture and i get the feeling that Hilda cannot carry a tune in a bucket.
THE DOG!!!! She is killing it in her mind... the dog disagrees. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
♬ "You ain't nothin' but a Hound Dog, cryin' all the time..." ♬ 😆❤
Hilda is definitely from Maine... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kF7DW_mZatA
You'd think she'd be a bit more tan with all of this fun in the sun!
She's a redhead. We burn, peel and are pasty white again....a few freckles though! 😂😂😂
Load More Replies...I found an original 9X14 print of Hilda 109 hidden behind some woodworking plans stapled to a shed wall built in the 50s. Score!
Finally caught ya! Her hair is defying gravity. Still good though. Lol
Love it!! Who wouldn’t want to be able to use a sling shot upside down???
Ha ha ha, that was me in Bucerias, Mexico. Those fishies tickled!! This is one of my top 10
She reminds me of Debbie Reynolds in this one, the facial expression is perfect.
hahahahahaaaa 'v been there, done that. It happened to me when I put some wallpaper all by myself. But finally I did it !
I love that he drew her so adventuress & calm in the face of situations like this!
Isn't a selfie a picture that you take of yourself? She obviously doesn't have a cell phone so she attached a string from her camera to her toe so that she could take a selfie...
Load More Replies...The 'Calendar Girls' movie took some inspiration from these drawings!!
This is my favourite - Hilda looks scrumptious, and the look on the dog's face!
This is what I love about her. She's a farm girl who just does her thing.
The house in the background looks like something Stephen Gammel painted for Scary stories to Tell in the Dark.
The lightning rods are typical of Maine farm houses.
Load More Replies...Hilda should save some leaves for her little outfit - leaves get brittle real fast.
These are hilarious and I swear I've seen some of them when I was a little girl but can't imagine where. Wouldn't they have been considered soft porn in the 1950's? And by the way, Hilda is NOT fat! Maybe just a bit "zaftig."
Love these she’s beautiful. But it is underlining if you are fat you have to be funny.
The thing I personally always find very outstanding about these drawings of Hilda compared to usual pin-up girls is that the usual pin-up girls were always shown at their best (best pose, best clothing, etc.). The thing with Hilda is that you see her in situations which are far from the way she planned it. You see her happy, sad, annoyed, dreaming, etc. which also includes very genuine facial expressions. The situations she's in makes her very human, likable and relatable. Most of the usual pin-up girls (even though they look absolutely beautiful, stunning and amazing) lack the thing that Hilda has: Being comfortable herself and being comfortable to be around.
true! but what still bothering me is why is "plus size" supposed to be linked to "clumsy"? isn't it a bit stereotypical? Like you said, the other pin-up girls were always shown at their best.
Load More Replies...They are fantastic, I would love it if they were available as prints, or that Society 6 thing where you can get them on items, such as bags and cushions etc, I would LOVE that.
It's pretty easy to find sites online that do that!
Load More Replies...Even though these are 50plus years old, it's quite refreshingly to see something like this as opposed to what is portrayed nowadays. Two thumbs up
I love that she's bigger and happy! It took me along time to be comfortable in my own skin. I'm like her, bigger, happy, and kinda hot!
I was in my late 30's before I was comfortable in my own skin. Being told I was hot and sexy and beautiful finally sunk in.
Load More Replies...Or maybe.. Duane Bryers was a genuine artist able to capture not only the female form, but also the personality of the subject. This has little to do with plus size and standard size subjects.
For some of us who have a body like Hilda's it hits home. Art has different meanings to different people.
Load More Replies...She is just the best! Notice she has a waistline, my mother always said a woman can be any size and look good if she has a waistline. I always wonder what her life is like: is she on vacation in these pictures, off for the summer? She's talking on a phone in one: who is she talking to? Does she have a job? How old is she? Seems to be very happy, but she's always alone except for those sweet animals.
The thing I personally always find very outstanding about these drawings of Hilda compared to usual pin-up girls is that the usual pin-up girls were always shown at their best (best pose, best clothing, etc.). The thing with Hilda is that you see her in situations which are far from the way she planned it. You see her happy, sad, annoyed, dreaming, etc. which also includes very genuine facial expressions. The situations she's in makes her very human, likable and relatable. Most of the usual pin-up girls (even though they look absolutely beautiful, stunning and amazing) lack the thing that Hilda has: Being comfortable herself and being comfortable to be around.
true! but what still bothering me is why is "plus size" supposed to be linked to "clumsy"? isn't it a bit stereotypical? Like you said, the other pin-up girls were always shown at their best.
Load More Replies...They are fantastic, I would love it if they were available as prints, or that Society 6 thing where you can get them on items, such as bags and cushions etc, I would LOVE that.
It's pretty easy to find sites online that do that!
Load More Replies...Even though these are 50plus years old, it's quite refreshingly to see something like this as opposed to what is portrayed nowadays. Two thumbs up
I love that she's bigger and happy! It took me along time to be comfortable in my own skin. I'm like her, bigger, happy, and kinda hot!
I was in my late 30's before I was comfortable in my own skin. Being told I was hot and sexy and beautiful finally sunk in.
Load More Replies...Or maybe.. Duane Bryers was a genuine artist able to capture not only the female form, but also the personality of the subject. This has little to do with plus size and standard size subjects.
For some of us who have a body like Hilda's it hits home. Art has different meanings to different people.
Load More Replies...She is just the best! Notice she has a waistline, my mother always said a woman can be any size and look good if she has a waistline. I always wonder what her life is like: is she on vacation in these pictures, off for the summer? She's talking on a phone in one: who is she talking to? Does she have a job? How old is she? Seems to be very happy, but she's always alone except for those sweet animals.
