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Earl Moran
(1893-1984)
Moran, Earl Steffa
(1893-1984),
was born in Belle Plaine, Iowa, in December 1893. Like
many of his contempories Moran studied at the Chicago Art Institute, while
at the same time working for a large engraving house which specialised in
men's fashion illustrations. Moran studied in Chicago for two years before
moving on to Manhattan where he enrolled at the Art Students League.
In 1931 he moved back to Chicago and opened a small studio, specialising
in photography and illustration. In 1932 he signed an exclusive contract
with Brown and Bigelow and produced his first, and perhaps best known,
pin-up for the company: "Golden Hours" in 1933. This pin-up proved so popular
that it was used to market a variety of products, including a huge 5 pound
box of chocolates.
Earl Moran became one of America's best known pin-up artists after Life
magazine ran an article on him in 1940, he was also well known as a cover
artist, along with Peter Driben etc., for Robert Harrison, and indeed painted
the cover for Harrisons first issue of Beauty Parade. The early forties
where also a time of some hardship for Moran following his bitter divorce
from his wife Mura. After the divorce had been settled he moved to Hollywood
and comenced painting film stars along with his calendar work for Brown and
Bigelow. One of his most famous models whilst in Hollywood was the young
Marilyn Monroe, who modeled for Moran between 1946 and 1950. Earl Moran
continued to paint for Brown and Bigelow well into the late fifties before
deciding to retire to paint fine art subjects. He signed with Aaron Brothers
Galleries and continued to paint for collectors until 1982 when his eyesight
started to fail. Earl Moran died on the 17th January 1984, in Santa Monica.
Although Earl Moran utilised a variety of mediums, e.g. oil on canvas in the
40's and oil on canvasboard in the 50's, he most commonly worked in pastels.
His work can often be recognised by his heavy use of light and shadow.
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