Thomas Moran

Thomas Moran painted the American West on a grand scale. Yellowstone’s canyons, the Grand Canyon and the Rocky Mountains appear in blazing colour, with dramatic skies and rock formations glowing in sunlight. He belongs to the Hudson River School and the Rocky Mountain School.

He was born in Bolton, England, and grew up near Philadelphia. In 1871 he joined Ferdinand Hayden’s survey of Yellowstone, and his sketches, with William Henry Jackson’s photographs, helped persuade Congress to make it the first national park. Congress bought his huge Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. He signed some works TYM, for Thomas Yellowstone Moran. Mount Moran in Grand Teton National Park is named after him.

A Showery Day, Grand Canyon and A Water Pocket in Southern Utah show his western work. Look at the vivid oranges and the scale of the landscape.