Artist

Thomas Moran

born Bolton, England 1837-died Santa Barbara, CA 1926
Media - J0001991_1b.jpg - 89335
Thomas Moran, © Peter A. Juley & Son Collection, Smithsonian American Art Museum J0001991
Born
Bolton, England
Died
Santa Barbara, California, United States
Active in
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
  • Newark, New Jersey, United States
  • East Hampton, New York, United States
  • Colorado, United States
  • Wyoming, United States
Biography

Landscape painter. Influenced by J.M.W. Turner, Moran is best remembered for his idealized views of the American West. In 1871 he accompanied a government surveying expedition to Yellowstone and was greatly inspired by the landscape; The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (1893–1901) and The Chasm of the Colorado (1872) are two outstanding works.

Joan Stahl American Artists in Photographic Portraits from the Peter A. Juley & Son Collection (Washington, D.C. and Mineola, New York: National Museum of American Art and Dover Publications, Inc., 1995)

Works by this artist (88 items)

Thomas Moran, The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, 1893-1901, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of George D. Pratt, 1928.7.1
The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Date1893-1901
oil on canvas
On view
Thomas Moran, Fort George Island, Florida, 1878, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Neil M. Judd, 1970.73
Fort George Island, Florida
Date1878
oil on canvas
On view
Thomas Moran, A Mexican Hacienda, Lake Cuitzeo, 1885, oil on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1968.120.2
A Mexican Hacienda, Lake Cuitzeo
Date1885
oil on wood
On view

Exhibitions

An oil on canvas of a man lifting a curtain into his museum
The Great American Hall of Wonders
July 14, 2011January 8, 2012
The exhibition The Great American Hall of Wonders examines the nineteenth-century American belief that the people of the United States shared a special genius for innovation.
An artwork image of a woman
Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano 
October 8, 2021May 8, 2022
This exhibition brings to life the Venetian glass revival of the nineteenth century on the famed island of Murano and the artistic experimentation the city inspired for artists such as John Singer Sargent and James McNeill Whistler.

Related Books

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Lure of the West: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Lure of the West: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum commemorates Treasures to Go, a series of eight exhibitions from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, touring the nation through 2002. The Principal Financial Group is a proud partner in presenting these treasures to the American people.
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Graphic Masters: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Graphic Masters celebrates the extraordinary variety and accomplishment of American artists’ works on paper. Exceptional watercolors, pastels, and drawings from the 1860s through the 1990s reveal the central importance of works on paper for American artists, both as studies for creations in other media and as finished works of art. Traditionally a more intimate form of expression than painting or sculpture, drawings often reveal greater spontaneity and experimentation. Even as works on paper become larger and more finished, competing in scale with easel paintings, they retain a sense of the artist’s hand, the immediacy of a thought made visible.