Thomas Moran
Born in England and raised in Philadelphia, Thomas Moran was almost entirely self-taught as an artist. Producing romantic landscapes in the tradition of Cole and Bierstadt, his career shifted in 1871 when the director of the United States Geological Survey invited him to join an expedition to what would become Yellowstone Park. The trip began one of the most inspired and productive periods of Moran's life, setting the tradition of American landscape painting on a modern, experimental trajectory.
How would you describe the “myth of the West”?
During the era of western expansion, the frontier came to exist in the American imagination as a land of unlimited promise and potential, an awe-inspiring paradise as depicted here by Moran. The natural beauty and unique geological features of sites like the Grand Canyon helped artists perpetuate the mythology of the West—Moran painted the Grand Canyon throughout his career, and some of these works were commissioned by railway companies to promote tourism.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Gill through the Patrons of Art and Music
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