Robert Blue

"This article is about the artist. For the politician, see Robert Donald Blue."

Robert D. [ [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117467179.html?categoryid=15&cs=1 Variety obituary] ] Blue (1946 [ [http://www.art-mart.com/Robert%20Blue.htm Art-Mart.com - Robert Blue] ; 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 [ [http://www.art-mart.com/Robert%20Blue.htm Art-Mart.com - 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 [ [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0087397/trivia IMDb.com - Trivia for Heartbreakers] ] . His work precedes that of similar artist Patrick Nagel. 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

Born in Los Angeles [ [http://www.art-mart.com/Robert%20Blue.htm Art-Mart.com - Robert Blue] ] in 1946, Robert Blue grew up in Beverly Hills. He served in the United States Army and attended the California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, earning a BFA at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. Blue served as chairman of fine art at Assn. in Art, Van Nuys.

In 1979, Blue joined Brian Davis to form the Davis-Blue Artwork publishing company. This company published a number of dramtic posters, including some by illustrator Major Felten.

Blue succumbed to brain cancer [ [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117467179.html?categoryid=15&cs=1 Variety obituary] ] in Santa Monica 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.

Two films have featured Blue's art; 1974's "The Second Coming of Suzanne", and 1984's "Heartbreakers", the latter of which was loosely based on Blue himself [ [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0087397/trivia IMDb.com - Trivia for Heartbreakers] ] . There has also been a character in a novel based on him.

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