Earl Moran (1893 - 1984)

Earl Moran was a master of pastels, though he showed little if any influence of reigning Brown & Bigelow star Rolf Armstrong, whose domain he encroached upon in the '30s. Prolific Moran, Iowa-born, a Chicago Art Institute attendee, was soon a superstar himself, creating lively, sexy girls whose relationship with the viewer was seldom a teasing one. Unlike Gil Elvgren and others, Moran did not continually re-work one type of situation, and his pin-ups have more variety than any other major contributor to the field.

Earl Moran.

Breaking in via advertising work for Sears-Roebuck, Moran went on to magazine illustration, for example Life, movie posters (Something for the Boys 1944) and even co-published an early "girlie" magazine, Beauty Parade, contributing covers, sometimes under his middle name non de plume, "Steffa".

His most enduring pin-ups feature his famous late '40s model, Marilyn Monroe. Later he turned to oils, including this gowned glamour girl and, working from the late '50s until his death, an outstanding series of sensual nudes.