Dames, Dolls & Gun Molls: The Art Of Robert Maguire - Coffee Table Book Review

Unlike the elements of legendary warriors like Conan or the perception of time in "The Umbrella Academy", "Dames, Dolls & Gun Molls: The Art Of Robert A. Maguire" exists in its splendid beauty as a coffee table softcover which gives a great view into the vixen art of the 50s and 60s and one of the brilliant minds behind it. Robert Maguire did not visualize the pin-up girls mind you but the dangerous, deprived, strong and sexy women who inhabited many of the pulp novels at the time. Back then, unlike now, book art was not cut and pasted within glitzy concepts. It was painted. And looking at the themes and evolutions of Maguire covered in this book you get a sense of both pop culture, the publishing industry and the essence of mixing artistic vision with commerce and how it all wraps into one. The essence of a Maguire Girl began where the arc of a chin or a difference in the eyes gave you a look into what she desired. The different kinds of women that permeated through all of Maguire's themes made him different. Many artists who did similar elements to this used the same girls but Maguire did not. Every one is different. Most of the time in the early days, he would shoot them himself with his own camera. The similarity in the paintings is there but there is always extra attitude brimming at the seams.The second thematic essence examined in the book is "Deadly Dames" showing with sultry and conniving women with guns always one step ahead. Think Catherine Trammel if she was operating in the 50s. Next in the perception came the "Wantons & Working Girls" which showed an essence of life that is very rarely talked about in the 50s. Again this is what the middle class at times clamored for but would never tell their mothers or friends (or possibly girlfriends for that matter). The art contained in the book varies over many artists and gives an exceptional view into books that just don't exist nowadays. A lot of these paintings came from Maguire's private archives which were organized and brought together by his daughter. One disheartening note is that many times, the original art was kept by a publisher. With so many collapsing and folding during that time and since, one can imagine how many originals were lost or even thrown away because people didn't know what they were or didn't care. That is why it is great to see it preserved at the very least in this way.The next angle of the Maguire girls were "Damsels In Distress". Like many movies of today with the one-sheets, the key is to try to get what story you are trying to push across with simply the picture. The similarities continues because, as with the trailers today, the cover doesn't always represent the actual content. But with the girls in danger angle, you always had an inkling. Maguire was very good at capturing the looks on the girl's faces and the contortions of their bodies in specific freezes. The angle that very much separated is that the point of view (or camera perspective) is always changed in each of his paintings. The book also explores a brief stint with "Pagans & Romantics" which is not as interesting, which the editor seems to rightfully understands. It instead highlights the baseline elements that stifled creativity in those instances. The book also contains a progressions of sketches which showed how composition came together and how close the inking was to the final product. "Dames, Dolls & Gun Molls" is a very intrinsic book that doesn't skimp on the art while giving a rounded view not just of the artist (who is wonderfully represented) but also comparative artists of the period. Out of 5, I give it a 3 1/2.