Thomas Moran
American
1837-1926
There are two categories in which to place an artist when considering their background: “Trained” or “Self -Taught”. Moran was self-taught. He firmly held the conviction that art could not be taught, but that knowing how to see nature was the important thing. He stated that: you either “had it” or you didn’t.
There are essentially two types of landscape artists: the Studio Artist (who generally paints from photos and/or sketches) and the Plein-Air Artist (who paints exclusively outside and on location). Moran was both. He painted small, colorful sketches while traveling, and also took photos to refer to when back in the studio. He is considered by most to have been a studio painter. As an artist, Moran was well-rounded, and prolific in his output. In other words, while the plein-air artists tend to be purists in their approach to painting (and consider painting from photos as cheating), and studio artists might be more concerned with the end result than how they get there, Moran took some of the admirable qualities of both approaches and applied them to his art.
“I place no value upon literal transcriptions from Nature. My general scope is not realistic; All my tendencies are toward idealization. A place as a place has no value in itself for the artist. While I desire to tell truly of Nature, I do not wish to realize the scene literally but to convey its true impression.”
This is a revealing quote from Moran, and is helpful in understanding him better. He probably had no problem moving trees around in a picture, adding mountains where they needed to go, adjusting the sunlight and clouds, and if necessary placing a river in the scene to spice it all up. It sounds piece-meal no doubt, but almost all of his paintings hold together as if they were an actual location.
The fact that Moran painted unwaveringly in one style (realism- or rather “idealization”) for his entire career, could account at least in part, for his success. Moran’s technique and style became recognizable to many. He was also not shy about painting subjects that appealed to the buying public. This was a solid business move, but I wonder what he could have accomplished if he had been focused on more personal inclinations and inspirations. At any rate, he completely represented the United States in that effect, and became known as the foremost Landscape Artist in America (note- there was at least one other contender for that title at the time).
Thomas Moran enjoyed health as well as old age, and painted ceaselessly until his demise. The scope and range of paintings he amassed over a lifetime is vast. Yet, for all this variety of scenery throughout his work, there are essentially five types of landscapes that comprise Moran‘s body of work as a whole.
They are:
1. Interiors, Glens, and Woodland Dales: usually with a river running through them, and often during summer or fall. These pictures often portray idealized landscapes near Kensington, PA., the home of the artist.
2. The Western Landscape and Mountain Ranges: This is the type of painting that made Moran famous. The Yellowstone Mountains were first painted for a public audience by Thomas Moran. His paintings, researched on a government funded expedition, helped to make Yellowstone the first National Park. If it were not for this combination of luck, timing, and genius we probably would never have heard of Thomas Moran.
The American Congress eventually purchased two of Moran’s paintings for $10, 000 each, which had the effect of catapulting Moran into a worldwide marketplace. Copies of his Western pictures were in demand for the rest of his life, and he could have survived solely on those if he had chosen to.
Aside from painting Yellowstone, some of his other popular Western scenes often depict the Colorado Rockies, The Green River series, The Grand Canyon, and The Tetons, to name just a few.
3. Distant Locations: being an extensive traveler, Moran was constantly traveling and making sketches and paintings from many of his visits. Including such locations as Scotland, Mexico, Cuba & Venice; Moran also visited numerous states throughout the U.S.. Years later he would use some of his sketches to complete large finished paintings of the scene, so complete were his notes and sketches.
4. The Historical Drama:
These paintings mix allegorical or historical events and themes. Moran would place characters in an outdoor setting, (making them seem dramatically less significant than the landscape), but attempting nonetheless to create the grandeur of a monumental moment. His preoccupation remained to: portray the idealized landscape, lush with atmosphere and life.
5. Watercolors:
When Moran traveled he did not bring oils, but rather opted for the lighter, faster watercolor sketch. Althoughe did not consider them finished works in themselves, they are unusually detailed, and brightly colored gems. Also, they are most commonly done en plein air (or on location). They captured a spontaneous feeling in technique that is often absent or eliminated in his more polished oil paintings.