EARL MORAN (American, 1893-1984). A Mere Maid, Brown and Bigelow calendar illustration, c. late 1930s. Pastel on board. ...

Description

EARL MORAN (American, 1893-1984)
A Mere Maid, Brown and Bigelow calendar illustration, c. late 1930s
Pastel on board
38 x 29 in.
Signed lower right
Earl Moran was a dazzling star in the pin-up world -- he was spotlighted in a Life magazine pictorial and had a famed association with Marilyn Monroe during her Blue-Book Modeling Agency years as Norma Jean.

This large, luminous, and exceedingly rare early pastel, titled A Mere Maid, was created for the Brown and Bigelow Calendar Company. This important masterwork hails from the late thirties and is a prime example of the artist's coveted and wildly successful "light and shadow" series of art deco-styled pin-ups. The commanding scale and erotically charged nude mermaid theme make this among Moran's most desirable works.

The image was also licensed for calendar use to Arrow Beer with an alternate title of The Naked Truth.

This superb pastel drawing is in a pristine state of preservation, and a published, vintage print of the image is included with the lot. This piece retains its original, stepped-gessoed, wide-profile frame, and the art is properly lined behind glass, with a partial Brown and Bigelow inventory label preserved on the back of the frame.

This masterpiece is truly "the Great American Pin-Up" personified.

More information about EARL MORAN. See also: Moran, Earl, Earl Moran Artist.



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