He was born in Philadelphia on July 29, 1862, to Edward Moran, an artist who immigrated to the United States from England.

[1] Moran studied under his father and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and the National Academy of Design in New York City.

He was a painter of historical American subjects, and examples of his work are found in many prominent collections.

He died in New York City on March 25, 1935, at age 72.

[2] His brother Leon Moran[3] (born 1864), his uncles Peter Moran (born 1842) and Thomas Moran, and his cousin Jean Leon Gerome Ferris were also prominent American artists.