About Earl Moran:
Earl Steffa Moran 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 specialized 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, specializing 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 commenced
painting film stars along with his calendar work for Brown and Bigelow.
Although Earl Moran utilized a variety of mediums, e.g. oil on canvas in the 40's and oil on canvas board in the 50's, he most commonly
worked in pastels. His work can often be recognized by his heavy use of light and shadow. 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 of January in 1984, in Santa Monica, CA.
Earl Moran & Norma Jeane/Marilyn Monroe:
One of his most famous models whilst in Hollywood was the young Marilyn Monroe, then Norma Jeane, who modeled for Moran between
1946 and 1950. Earl Moran hired Marilyn through the Blue Book Agency in Los Angeles, in 1946. This was one of Marilyn's earliest regular
modeling assignments, to help pay the rent while she fought for an entree into the movie business. She posed for him off and on for the next
four years. He usually took photos of her, which he used as reference for his pinup illustrations. He paid Marilyn ten dollars an hour to
photograph her in various costumes and states of toplessness from 1946 to 1949. Moran's Marilyn work was used, among others, by major
calendar company Brown & Bigelow. Forty years later, in January 1987, Playboy magazine published some of Moran's 1946 nude photos of
Marilyn.
One of his most famous photo’s/paintings of Marilyn was done in 1946, titled ‘Bus Stop’. It featured Marilyn in a cheesecake pose, standing
next to a bus stop, with skates in her hand. The drawing was accompanied by the following poem:
Little Boy Blue/Come blow your horn/She wants a ride,/This maid, forlorn/But she’s prepared/If you run out of gas./So save your tricks
for some other lass.
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