I have offered this background information on the artist, subject, and platform of this portrait of Bettie Page used for the 1955 January issue of Playboy to illustrate how rapidly the modeling and sex industries were growing during the early-to-mid 1950s and why these examples specifically were so successful in what they did. This is evident by analyzing the centerfold image itself. In this photograph; Bettie Page is completely nude save for a single Santa Claus hat on her head. While her posture is not provocative in of itself, the positioning of objects and her limbs are done purposefully to excite the imagination of those who look at it. Her right arm extends up and away from the body, extending her torso and thus giving prominence to her chest, waist, and abdomen. Her left hand holds a single ornament of a Christmas tree positioned directly in front of where her vagina would be otherwise visible. Coupled with the hat on her head, Page is presented in a tastefully intimate fashion that suggests a woman who is fun, playful, and sexy. Bunny Yeager knows exactly how to make her model’s shine on the camera. With her personal expertise and study, she is able to create this image with techniques not just based around the model’s posing, but the lighting and framework as well. Fit for the Christmas season; green, white, and red are the three most predominant colors in this image. Page kneels on a white carpet with a dark green backdrop that seems to glow around her. The bright red and white of the Santa hat, along with her red lipstick, contrasts with the dark background and her signature black hair. This draws the viewers’ attention from the head and face down to her chest, prominently highlighted, and then down to the reflective silver-green ornament in her hand. The model takes up most of the visual space of the image from top to bottom, with a spindly tree beside her filling up the empty space without taking attention away from the image’s subject. With the vastness of talent behind going into this artwork, coupled with the backing and exposure provided by a distributor as large as Playboy, this photograph is a simply masterful and iconic example of sexuality’s growing publicity and prominence as a market for both artistic and economic success in the latter half of the 20^th century.

Works Cited:

“Bunny Yeager.” Bizarre Magazine UK, Archive.org, 24 Sept. 2008, web.archive.org/web/20140705181941/www.bizarremag.com/film-and-music/interviews/7407/bunny_yeager.html. Accessed Mar 21, 2025.

Yeager, Bunny. Self Portrait, Untitled. 1960. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2014/05/25/pin-up-photographer-bunny-yeager-dies-at-85/. Accessed Apr 26, 2025.

“About Bettie Page: Biography.” Bettie Page, www.bettiepage.com/about/. Accessed Mar 21, 2025.

Yeager, Bunny. Jungle Bettie with Beach Driftwood. 1954. https://grapefruitmoongallery.com/86139. Accessed Apr 6, 2025.

Santiago, Amanda. “The Strange Story of How Marilyn Monroe Appeared Nude in the First Issue of Playboy.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, 28 Sept. 2017, finance.yahoo.com/news/strange-story-marilyn-monroe-appeared-145526337.html. Accessed Mar 23, 2025.

Playboy. First Issue Cover, 1953. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/28/business/media/playboy-hugh-hefner.html. Accessed Apr 6, 2025.