Vargas' heirs control the copyright; for more information, see the website below.
Max Vargas and Astrid Conte; they may be contacted at the link below.
The creator owns copyright on free animated clip art. as it is freely distributed online or in other media format. there is no penalty in using free animated clip art as it is free to use (no license required).
Mr. Sharpsteen's estate may control the copyright for some of his works, but anything created as a work-for-hire for Disney would be controlled by Disney.
Most of his works are prints, which exist in large editions and can be found in many collections. The copyright is held by an organization controlled by his children.
That would depend on the terms of the commission contract. If the artwork was done as "work-for-hire" the copyright would reside with the customer. If there is no work-for-hire provision the rights would then belong to the artist.
Works are automatically protected once they are fixed, but you can register your art with the copyright office if you wish.
Various portions of it are controlled by different companies. Paramount Pictures holds the copyright for the film and the album cover art. The songs are administered by MPL Communications on behalf of Edwin H. Morris. Performances must be licensed through Samuel French.
Unless other arrangements have been made (such as a work made for hire agreement), the creator of the work is automatically the copyright holder. Transfer of the physical item does not transfer the rights: if you buy my painting, I am still the copyright holder.
It violates their exclusive rights, and interrupts their revenue stream. Continued infringement can force a full-time artist into taking a "regular" job, thereby significantly limiting the time he or she can spent creating art.
There were a lot of different artist that did pin up art or had their photos become pin ups. Some of the most famous were Gil Elvgren, George Petty, Alberto Vargas and Art Frahm. One of the most famous pin ups from WW2 was the photo by Frank Powolny of Betty Grable.
Alberto Alessi has written: 'Alessi' 'The Design Factory (Art & Design Monographs (Paper))'
If it is an original painting by Alberto Vargas it would have a substantial value. All his early Art Original were owned by Hearst Publication (Esquire 1941-1948) an are part of Collection at the Spencer Museum at the University of Kansas. After quitting /being fired from Esquire, Vargas found little work until Playboy began publishing his drawings on a monthly basis. Playboy also retained ownership of paintings. An original Oil Painting by Vargas would sell in the $25,000 range. Since you specify whom the artist is, I will say unfortunately any other than Vargas are much less desirable and bring only a fraction of a Vargas .