Earl Moran

Earl Steffa Moran was born in Belle Plain, IA on Dec. 8, 1893. Artistically inclined as a child, Moran was influenced by the work of Charles Dana Gibson and James M. Flagg. Opting for an art career, he studied at the AIC and in NYC at the ASL and Grand Central School. In the 1930s he moved to California and settled in Los Angeles. Tiring of commercial work, he began dabbling in pastels of beautiful women a la Petty and Vargas. The calendar company Brown & Bigelow reproduced these pastels which brought him great success. He died in Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 1984.

Exh: Illustrators of LA, 1955.

Edan Hughes, “Artists in California, 1786-1940”
Who’s Who in American Art 1947-53; SF Chronicle, 1-19-1984 (obit).