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Billy
De Vorss might at first glance be regarded as a shameless imitator
of Rolf Armstrong, whose influence might be said to extend even
to De Vorss' signature. The self trained De Voess was frequently
working with live models, he painted in pastels, like Armstrong,
and his beauties (like Armstrong's) often showed dazzling smiles
and slender limbs.
But De Vorss should be credited for his own special charm -
his works, all though uneven, have a warmth and a glow to it,
his girls-next-door images holding a good-natured sexuality.
De Vorss work conveys romance, where Armstrong conveyed glamour.
De Vorss idealized women seem to grow from his lack of formal
training. It might not be a coincidence that his favourite model
was his wife. Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, De Vorss worked
out of New York's Greenwich Village from the mid-'30s until
he returned to the mid west in the early '50s. His earliest
calendar girls appeared under the Louis F. Dow imprint.
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