When Sharon Olson walked into a room, the place went quiet. Described as a "stunning blonde," she was the model for pinup artist Gil Elvgren's "Sharon 1975."
She also modeled for Helena Rubinstein cosmetics and appeared in advertisements in several national magazines. But she was best known for her work with Elvgren, a St. Paul native often described as the most important pinup and glamour artist of the 20th century. Sneered at by the fine arts community, Elvgren's original oils now fetch upward of $200,000 a piece. The record sale for an Elvgren is about $500,000.
Olson, of Apple Valley, died Oct. 16. She was 80, one of the last surviving of Elvgren's models.
While less than modest, Elvgren's paintings were never vulgar and often had a flirty humorous touch, with a flash of garter or cleavage exposed by an errant pump handle or gust of wind. They also displayed refined technical skills that rivaled contemporary artists and illustrators, like friends Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish.
The women reflected a post-World War II wholesomeness, said Louis Meisel, whose New York gallery has sold Elvgrens to actors Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone, among others. Meisel is the author of several books on pinups and his book, "Gil Elvgren: All His Glamorous American Pin-Ups," is described as the definitive Elvgren resource.
Elvgren had specific requirements for his models, and Olson, who measured 36-22-35, fit the bill.
"It was the all-American girl, they were pretty and sexy but chaste. He invented that," Meisel said.
Olson's fellow Elvgren models included Hollywood actresses Rita Hayworth, Kim Novak, Donna Reed and Barbara Hale. Her husband, William, worked for St. Paul-based Brown & Bigelow, a distributor of promotional products and calendar advertising, for many years and the couple became personal friends with Elvgren. At one time they owned 77 of Elvgren's original paintings that were used in Brown & Bigelow calendars, but the family sold them off in the 1970s for $50 a piece.
