Girl with Yellow Bird, 1922

This stunning portrait of Lila Lee - famous performer of the Ziegfeld stage - reveals Vargas' gift for rendering and animating the nude female body. It also illustrates his literary sophistication, as she holds a copy of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, a collection of love sonnets that most likely was part of Vargas' vast library. The songbird is commonly seen as a reference to Lila's singing career.