Most of my favorite images of Ruth Etting are from the mid-1920′s – I like the jazz baby, art deco feel of her earliest images – most of which were shot in Chicago. When she hit New York in 1927 she was photographed extensively by Alfred Cheney Johnston, one of the most famous photographers of the era, and the man who photographed all the Ziegfeld Girls. Next up for Ruth Etting was Hollywood, and some early-1930′s glamour light – those tend to be my least favorite images of her.

The image above was shot in 1933, right in the middle of Ruth Etting’s years in Hollywood, but it was also right in the middle of the Great Depression, and this image reflects that reality. Gone are the evening gowns and pearls of the 1920′s and instead she’s wearing a simple printed dress and her hair is softer and less stylized. The lighting is much softer and more flattering than many of the images of her from this time period. It also is perhaps the very best image of her eyes that exists.

As much as I love the art deco infused images of her years in Chicago, this depression era photo is charming in it’s own way – and just as easy to love.

This image appeared on sheet music…

The Old Spinning Wheel (Hill) 1933

And a similar image, shot at the same time…

Gypsy Fiddles (Wrubel) 1933
Just A Year Ago To-Night (Rose, David) 1933
True (Samuels, Whitcup) 1934
Tiny Little Fingerprints (Tobias, Newman, Stept) 1935

In the mid-1920′s Ruth Etting had a thing for pearls – see 1, 2, 3, 4 if you want proof! But perhaps the most iconic image of her, with pearls, is an image that seems to only exist today on sheet music – a tiny little photo, way too small for my taste.

It’s also one of the earliest images of Ruth Etting – it first appeared on sheet music in 1925, but could have been shot earlier.

I’ve watched the auctions, watched eBay – for years – and I’ve never seen this particular image in any format other than sheet music. It’s one of my favorite images of Ruth Etting, so I’m hoping that someday, maybe, I’ll find a vintage print. Or someone will send me a scan of one?

But until then, the grainy sheet music version is the best available!

Some of the sheet music this images was featured on….

What Do We Care If It’s One O’Clock (Goodwin, Shay, Ash) 1925
Will You Wait In The Valley For Me? (Hirsch, Burke) 1925

Alberto Vargas was perhaps the most famous pin-up artist of all time. Born in 1896, he was only a little older than Ruth Etting, and came of age at the same time. His distinctive style is rooted in the art deco feel of the early 1920′s – and his career started, just as Ruth’s had, with the Ziegfeld follies. He painted many of the Ziegfeld Girls, including the iconic “Follies Girl” on the left, which graced the cover of the printed program for the very last Follies, in 1931 – the year Ruth Etting headlined.

Wikipedia, in it’s listing on Vargas, lists exactly six “notable women” painted by the artist – and knowing that he painted hundreds of women over his very long and illustrious career, makes me think that the six women mentioned may have been among his favorites? Or perhaps his best known work? And the six women? One of them is Ruth Etting.

I’ve never seen a Vargas’ image of Ruth Etting. His style is definitely distinctive, but it also evolved over the years, and I’m mostly familiar with his later work, so I’m not sure I’d recognize it if I saw it? If you’ve ever seen a girl painted on the nose of a vintage World War II airplane, seen the vintage cartoons and the pin-up art in 1940′s Esquire Magazine, or the pin up art in 1960′s Playboy Magazine, or seen the cover art for the Cars 1979 album, Candy-O, then you’ve seen the work of Vargas. But the “Follies Girl” above is very different in style from everything that came later.

So would I know a Vargas image of Ruth Etting if I saw it? Or is the “Follies Girl” above, really Ruth Etting? The hair is right, so are the lips – if you’re talking about early-Ruth – and maybe the eyes? And she was the starring in the Follies that year… Is it a stylized and idealized portrait of her? Could be… I’m not sure, but hopefully someday I’ll find out!

One of my goals for this site is to showcase as many images of Ruth Etting as possible, and some of the best images of her ended on sheet music. This particular image was showcased on the cover of more than a few songs!

Somebody’s Lonely (Davis, Gold) 1926
I’ve Lost All My Love For You (Lewis, Young, Akst, Piantadosi) 1926
Swanee Shore (Hess, Bourne) 1927
Someday You’ll Say ‘OK’ (Donaldson) 1927
Just The Same (Donaldson, Burke) 1927

And a similar image shot at the same time…

When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbing Along (Woods) 1926
Wistful and Blue (Etting, Davison) Charted at #10 in 1927
For My Baby (Kahal, Wheeler, Snyder) 1927