Thomas Moran
The First Ship
c. 1860s

About the Item

*See VIDEO included in pictures. Can send additional if requested. approx. 19 x 25 inches framed. *This work is included in The Thomas Moran Catalogue Raisonne Project (See Steve Good's letter attached). A very important and beautiful painting by the great American painter, Thomas Moran (1837-1926). The large version of this work is entitled “Columbus Approaching San Salvador” and was the focal point/entrypiece during the Gilcrease Museum's exhibition of June, 2019 entitled “Americans All!” (see attached article). It was also included in a major Smithsonian exhibition and included in William Treuttner's book, The West As America (see below) and is described as such: "The Indians in Moran's painting anticipate the landing of the ship. The island on which they stand is a tropical paradise, with mountains, lush forests, delicate flowers, and a splashing waterfall. Its promise of richness and abundance is carefully reinforced by Claudian space; deep, saturated tones; beguiling patterns of sunlight; and by docile natives, who have already accepted their supporting role.” Regarded as the primary artist of the final decades of Western exploration, Thomas Moran made eight trips West between 1871 and 1892 and created a body of oil and watercolor sketches that remain a primary record of that period. In fact, his painting was so associated with the West that he was referred to as T. Yellowstone Moran. In 1873, he began signing his name with a monogram that incorporated "Y" into his initials, and from 1911, he added a thumbprint. He was born in Bolton, Lancashire, England, and his father was a hand-loom weaver. In 1844, his family emigrated to Philadelphia where in 1853, he apprenticed to a wood engraving firm and sketched designs on blocks. He also studied with his older brother, Edward, a marine and historical painter, whose studio he shared. In 1860, he made his first trip heading west, going to Lake Superior. Shortly after, he and Edward went to England where both brothers were heavily influenced by copying paintings of landscapist J.M.W. Turner. In 1866 and 1867, he returned to Europe and studied the tonalist painting style of Corot and did studies of Venice. In 1871 at age 34, he began the subject matter that challenged him for the remainder of his life. He traveled West with geologist F.V. Hayden on the Hayden Survey to the Grand Canyon and the Yellowstone River. Returning he moved his studio to Newark, New Jersey, and began doing huge panoramic paintings from his sketches. In 1872, he sketched in Yosemite and other parts of California, and in 1873, explored the Grand Canyon with Major Powell's survey team. The United States Congress bought two paintings from these trips for $10,000 each. From 1881 to 1911, he traveled nearly every year, often in the West, and also painted in Florida and Europe. In 1916, he settled in Santa Barbara, California where he died in 1926, having spent the later part of his life painting from sketches he made from earlier travels. His popularity never declined, and he was an active artist well into his 80s. By the time of his death, many of his favorite painting areas were protected in national park land. Although he is credited as a great documentary painter, he did not intend his paintings to be literal records of what he saw. He was committed to mysticism, a personal spiritual vision that caused him to find inspiration in nature. He said: "All my tendencies are toward idealization. A place as a place has no value in itself for the artist" (Samuels 333). On his deathbed, at age 90, he envisioned on his ceiling future landscapes to paint and expressed ongoing disapproval of modernist, abstract art. Sources include: Matthew Baigell, Dictionary of American Art Peggy and Harold Samuels, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West

Creator:
Thomas Moran (1837-1926, American)
Creation Year:
c. 1860s
Dimensions:
Height: 19 in (48.26 cm)Width: 25 in (63.5 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
Medium:
Oil,Canvas
Movement & Style:
American Realist
Period:
1860-1869
Condition:
Excellent condition, especially for a work from the 1860s. No re-touches or in-painting. On original canvas and stretchers.
Gallery Location:
Missouri, MO
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU74736594572
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Thomas Moran

Thomas Moran was born in 1837 in Bolton, England. He was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York, whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family took residence in New York, where he obtained work as an artist. A talented illustrator and exquisite colorist, he was hired as an illustrator at Scribner's Monthly. During the late 1860s, he was appointed the chief illustrator of the magazine, a position that helped him launch his career as one of the premier painters of the American landscape. Moran along with Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Hill, and William Keith are sometimes referred to as belonging to the Rocky Mountain School of landscape painters because of all of the Western landscapes made by this group. He began his artistic career as a teenage apprentice to the Philadelphia wood-engraving firm Scattergood & Telfer. He found the engraving process "tedious" and spent his free time working on his own watercolors. By the mid-1850s, he was drawing the firm's illustrations for publication rather than carving them and he began studying with local painter James Hamilton, who introduced him to the work of British artist J. M. W. Turner. Moran traveled to England in 1862 to see Turner's work and he often acknowledged that the artist's influence on his use of color and choice of landscapes. During the 1870s and 1880s, Moran's designs for wood-engraved illustrations appeared in major magazines and gift oriented publications. He was married to Scottish born Mary Nimmo Moran (1842–99), an etcher and landscape painter. The couple had two daughters and a son. His brothers Edward (1829–1901), John (1831–1902) and Peter (1841–1914), as well as his nephew Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863–1930), were also active as artists. He died in Santa Barbara, California on August 26, 1926. Moran's vision of the Western landscape was critical to the creation of Yellowstone National Park. In 1871, Dr. Ferdinand Hayden, director of the United States Geological Survey, invited Moran, at the request of American financier Jay Cooke, to join Hayden and his expedition team into the unknown Yellowstone region. Hayden was just to embark on his arduous journey when he received a letter from Cooke presenting Moran as.. "an artist of Philadelphia of rare genius. . ." Funded by Cooke (the director of the Northern Pacific Railroad) and Scribner's Monthly, a new illustrated magazine, Moran agreed to join the survey team of the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871 in their exploration of the Yellowstone region. During 40 days in the wilderness area, Moran visually documented over 30 different sites and produced a diary of the expedition's progress and daily activities. His sketches along with photographs produced by survey member William Henry Jackson captured the nation's attention and helped inspire Congress to establish the Yellowstone region as the first national park in 1872. The paintings of Moran along with the photographs of Jackson revealed the scale and splendor of the beautiful Yellowstone region more than written or oral descriptions, persuading President Grant and the US Congress that Yellowstone was to be preserved. Naturally proud of the role he played, Moran adopted a new signature: T-Y-M, Thomas "Yellowstone" Moran thereafter. After his involvement with Hayden expedition, Moran began publishing his work in various periodicals and produced several large paintings, including The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (1872) and Chasm of Colorado (1873–74), which were purchased by the US Congress to hang in the U.S. Capitol (now on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum). Over the next 40 years, he traveled extensively. He was elected to the membership of the National Academy of Design in 1884 and produced numerous works of art in his senior years. Legacy The Thomas Moran House in East Hampton, New York is a National Historic Landmark. Mount Moran in the Grand Teton National Park is named for Moran.