A tremendous, published 1949 Brown & Bigelow Calendar Company commissioned pin-up pastel and surely one of the finest examples by Earl Moran we have encountered. A strawberry blonde heart-breaker on a then state of the art mid-century modern phone asks the viewer and the caller to “Remember Me?” in a classic pin-up entanglement loaded with double entendre and intrigue. Earl Moran was a master pin-up artist and illustrator who employed a unique style in his pastel work to create a chiaroscuro light and shadow effect. This large and commanding pin-up is a monument to his talent and artistry. The condition is pristine; housed in a custom gallery frame, properly lined behind ultraviolet glass. A large 1949 Brown & Bigelow advertising calendar featuring the image is included in the sale. Our gallery offered this pastel in June of 2011, and it sold after being on the gallery for less than a day. We are delighted to have taken it in as a consignment from our former buyer. A full page color plate of “Remember Me?” appears in the recently published Taschen book The Art Of Pin-Up as part of the chapter on Earl Moran written by Grapefruit Moon Gallery co-owner Sarahjane Blum.

Though Earl Moran had been a national celebrity since 1940, when LIFE magazine featured his work in an extensive feature titled “Speaking of Pictures,” the late 1940s are today considered the most interesting of Moran’s career. The artist moved to Hollywood in 1946 where he quickly began working with a young Blue Book model named Norma Jeane, who would go onto stardom as Marilyn Monroe. The pair worked together often in the years between 1946-1950 and their association has kept Moran’s luminous artworks in the public eye to this day.  Earl Moran was one of the century’s most important pin-up artists and a true star in the illustration world. This large and defining example truly has it all.