Chi avrebbe detto che uno tra i migliori illustratori d' America avesse in realtà origini Italiane ? Edward Runci , classe 1921 ed erede " spirituale " dei magnifici disegni di Haddon Sundblom ( padre simbolico delle celebri Pin-Up Americane ) nacque a Genova e crebbe presso la città di Catania , dove rimase sino al 1930 , anno in cui , con la madre ed il fratello , raggiunse il padre emigrato negli Stati Uniti qualche tempo prima . Le bellissime ragazze disegnate da Runci hanno la sensuale allegria delle creature di Elvgren ( di cui troverete le opere e la biografia nella sezione illustrazione del blog ) e l ' elegante pienezza delle tele d' arte . Colori ricchi e sapientemente sovrapposti con pellennate piatte che sfumano leggermente l ' immagine , conferendo all ' opera un ' aria nostalgica e romantica , che ben si sposa alla carica erotica che da sempre contraddistingue il mondo delle pin-up. I suoi " angeli birichini " sono l ' emblema della salute con i loro sorrisi perfetti , le forme piene da Veneri Romane e le guance rosate , fresche come ogni gioventù che si rispetti . 

Edward Runci (1921 - 1985)
Edward Runci was born in Genoa, Italy in 1921 and was brought up by his mother and grandparents in the coastal town of Catania, Sicily. The tranquil setting coupled with his mothers encouragement moved Runci to start drawing at an early age.
In 1930 he move to the United States with his mother and brother, joining his father in Pennsylvania. Despite Edward Runci wining a painting contest and being offered a scholarship his father forced him to quit school and seek employment. The family moved to Detroit in 1937, and shortly after Edward Runci joined the Marine Corps. During this time he met Maxine Sunderman at the Hollywood Canteen and they were married later that same year, in 1943. Maxine was a gifted artist herself, and often posed for her husbands paintings.
Runci's career took off after the war had finished, with his first public viewing in 1945. Soon after he was a highly sought after portait artist "to the stars and residents of Hollywood". He started producing his pin-up and calendar girls in the late forties, moving on to advertising in the early fifties. His wife Maxine, also produced a number of pin-up and glamour paintings at the same time.
I recently recieved an e-mail from Drienne Runci Spencer, Edward Runci's daughter. She pointed out that the picture entitled 'A Pair of Winners 1950' was not painted by her father, but rather was painted by her mother Maxine. The painting is signed M. Stevens, the artistic name Maxine Sunderman used in her early years. Later she painted under the name M. Runci.