GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The following essay is from the 1982 publication Dallas Collects American Paintings: Colonial to Early Modern: An Exhibition of Paintings from Private Collections in Dallas.
Even more than Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran embodies in his paintings of the American West the concept of the sublime as an aesthetic experience of overwhelming power, awe, and even fear. It was his conviction that the grandest subjects, if properly handled, inspired the grandest, most beautiful art, and while he painted in many regions it was the magnificent beauty of the West that brought out his most dramatic talents.
One of a family of artists that numbered as many as sixteen, Moran was born in Bolton, Lancashire, England, and came with his parents to America at age seven. He received his first training in a wood engraving shop in Philadelphia, and after deciding to become an artist he shared a studio with his brother Edward and took instruction from James Hamilton. Decisive in his development were an early introduction through engravings to the visionary work of J.M.W. Turner and trips to England and France in 1861 and 1866 during which he studied firsthand the landscapes of Turner and Claude Lorrain.
After returning to America, he settled in New York and continued his landscape production while also providing illustrations for Scribner's Monthly. Through Scribner's, he learned of and was able to join the exploratory expedition led by Dr. F.V. Hayden to the Yellowstone region in 1871. Overwhelmed by the scenery encountered, he devoted himself primarily thereafter to attempting to capture the grandeur and color of the West in watercolors and oils that combine panoramic vision and chromatic light with fineness of detail. In 1872 Moran traveled through Yosemite Valley and the following year the Rocky Mountain region as part of a geographical survey group led by Major John Wesley Powell. Subsequently he explored the Grand Canyon, Colorado, the Lake Tahoe and Donner Pass area of the Sierra Nevada, and the Tetons, constantly gathering material for his grandiose paintings. Later he returned to England and in 1883 visited Mexico. Moran was elected an Associate of the National Academy in 1882 and a full Academician in 1884 and also belonged to the Society of American Artists and the Philadelphia Academy. After 1916 he spent his winters in California until his death in 1926.
Adapted from
Steven A. Nash, "Thomas Moran (1837-1926)", in Dallas Collects American Paintings: Colonial to Early Modern: an exhibition of paintings from private collections in Dallas, ed. Robert V. Rozelle (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, 1982), 76.
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General Description
The following essay is from the 1982 publication Dallas Collects American Paintings: Colonial to Early Modern: An Exhibition of Paintings from Private Collections in Dallas.
Even more than Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran embodies in his paintings of the American West the concept of the sublime as an aesthetic experience of overwhelming power, awe, and even fear. It was his conviction that the grandest subjects, if properly handled, inspired the grandest, most beautiful art, and while he painted in many regions it was the magnificent beauty of the West that brought out his most dramatic talents.
One of a family of artists that numbered as many as sixteen, Moran was born in Bolton, Lancashire, England, and came with his parents to America at age seven. He received his first training in a wood engraving shop in Philadelphia, and after deciding to become an artist he shared a studio with his brother Edward and took instruction from James Hamilton. Decisive in his development were an early introduction through engravings to the visionary work of J.M.W. Turner and trips to England and France in 1861 and 1866 during which he studied firsthand the landscapes of Turner and Claude Lorrain.
After returning to America, he settled in New York and continued his landscape production while also providing illustrations for Scribner's Monthly. Through Scribner's, he learned of and was able to join the exploratory expedition led by Dr. F.V. Hayden to the Yellowstone region in 1871. Overwhelmed by the scenery encountered, he devoted himself primarily thereafter to attempting to capture the grandeur and color of the West in watercolors and oils that combine panoramic vision and chromatic light with fineness of detail. In 1872 Moran traveled through Yosemite Valley and the following year the Rocky Mountain region as part of a geographical survey group led by Major John Wesley Powell. Subsequently he explored the Grand Canyon, Colorado, the Lake Tahoe and Donner Pass area of the Sierra Nevada, and the Tetons, constantly gathering material for his grandiose paintings. Later he returned to England and in 1883 visited Mexico. Moran was elected an Associate of the National Academy in 1882 and a full Academician in 1884 and also belonged to the Society of American Artists and the Philadelphia Academy. After 1916 he spent his winters in California until his death in 1926.
Adapted from
Steven A. Nash, "Thomas Moran (1837-1926)", in Dallas Collects American Paintings: Colonial to Early Modern: an exhibition of paintings from private collections in Dallas, ed. Robert V. Rozelle (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, 1982), 76.
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