The Art of Place
Art and geography meet in the works of Thomas Moran, known for his landscapes of the American West.
As the United States celebrated its centennial in 1876, prints of Moran's first watercolors of the western territories became widely available to the public, making the West seem more real and immediate for eastern audiences than written descriptions. Moran's views were recognized as the definitive renditions of those natural wonders by the end of the nineteenth century. Reproduced for advertisements, calendars, and posters, Moran's images were instrumental in making the West part of the U.S. consciousness. This watercolor depicts a sweeping view of the Colorado River canyon in Utah. From there, the Colorado River continues southward to Arizona, where it creates the Grand Canyon.
Explore the continent's geography in three languages in the online exhibition Panoramas: The North American Landscape in Art. There SAAM exhibits artworks alongside those from museums in Canada and Mexico!
Source: Panoramas: the North American Landscape in Art online exhibition at http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Landscapes/index.html.
Pictured: Thomas Moran, 1837–1926, Shin-Au-Av-Tu-Weap (God Land), Canyon of the Colorado, Utah, about 1872–73, watercolor and pencil on paper, 4 13/16 x 14 9/16 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. William Henry Holmes.
Art and geography meet in the works of Thomas Moran, known for his landscapes of the American West.
As the United States celebrated its centennial in 1876, prints of Moran's first watercolors of the western territories became widely available to the public, making the West seem more real and immediate for eastern audiences than written descriptions. Moran's views were recognized as the definitive renditions of those natural wonders by the end of the nineteenth century. Reproduced for advertisements, calendars, and posters, Moran's images were instrumental in making the West part of the U.S. consciousness. This watercolor depicts a sweeping view of the Colorado River canyon in Utah. From there, the Colorado River continues southward to Arizona, where it creates the Grand Canyon.