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Lot Essay
In the second half of the 19th century, America was expanding westward as pioneers sought to settle unconquered territory, and the push to industrialize this portion of the nation echoed that of the Eastern seaboard several decades earlier. The American public's imagination was captivated by stories and images from this distant, and still relatively wild, part of the country. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem, Song of Hiawatha, published in 1855 had much the same effect as James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans had engendered on the previous generation. "[F]ollowing the Civil War, when capital and labor were freed from destructive conflict and redirected toward what was viewed as constructive growth, the American West functioned as both an iconic symbol of national identity and a resource to be used in transforming the nation from a wilderness republic into an industrial power." (N.K. Anderson, "The Kiss of Enterprise: The Western Landscape as Symbol and Resource" in W.H. Truettner, ed., The West as American: Reinterpreting Images of the Frontier, 1820-1920, Washington, D.C., 1991, p. 240)
Thomas Moran first traveled to the American West with Dr. Ferdinand V. Hayden, Director of the United States Geological Survey, on his surveying expedition in 1871. The artist was immediately captivated by the rugged topography and dramatic light of the territory and continued to be for the remainder of his career, taking the vast area as the subject for many of his greatest works. He first gained acclaim for his paintings of the West in 1872, with the monumental The Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone (Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.), which was purchased by the United States government the year that it was completed.
Sunrise Landscape is a vast and poetic landscape that conveys Moran's adoration and reverence for the American West. The treatment of light, color and atmosphere manifest the influence of British Romantic painter Joseph Mallord William Turner. Moran had long studied black and white reproductions of Turner's paintings before traveling to Europe in 1861 where he studied the master's work in person. In the present work, however, Moran has incorporated Turner's fiery palette, infusion of light and modulation of color into his own unique style that is thoroughly American in nature.
In Sunrise Landscape, and in the spirit of Turner, Moran uses the Western landscape as a source of inspiration, altering the actual scene for an artistic effect and to capture the character of the vision rather than accurately transcribe it. Moran alleged, "I place no value upon literal transcripts from nature. My general scope is not realistic; all my tendencies are toward idealization. Of course, all art must come through nature or naturalism, but I believe that a place, as a place, had no value in itself for the artist only so far as it furnishes the material from which to construct a picture." (as quoted in L. Nelson, "The Oil Paintings of Thomas Moran" in Thomas Moran, 1837-1926, exhibition catalogue, Riverside, California, 1963, p. 18)
In Sunrise Landscape, Moran masterfully blends harmonious tones of orange, yellow and green set within the glowing light of the waning day to create a pristine and heroic landscape. This work, as with the artist's other great depictions of the West, were and remain so appealing because they spoke to and aroused the viewer's romantic conceptions of the West. Paintings such as Sunrise Landscape conveyed the grandeur of the region to the American public, capturing their imagination and largely influencing their conception of the West. Today they are masterful works that capture a dynamic moment in the nation's expansion and a potent vision of a then distant region.
This painting will be included in Stephen L. Good's and Phyllis Braff's forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's work.
Thomas Moran first traveled to the American West with Dr. Ferdinand V. Hayden, Director of the United States Geological Survey, on his surveying expedition in 1871. The artist was immediately captivated by the rugged topography and dramatic light of the territory and continued to be for the remainder of his career, taking the vast area as the subject for many of his greatest works. He first gained acclaim for his paintings of the West in 1872, with the monumental The Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone (Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.), which was purchased by the United States government the year that it was completed.
Sunrise Landscape is a vast and poetic landscape that conveys Moran's adoration and reverence for the American West. The treatment of light, color and atmosphere manifest the influence of British Romantic painter Joseph Mallord William Turner. Moran had long studied black and white reproductions of Turner's paintings before traveling to Europe in 1861 where he studied the master's work in person. In the present work, however, Moran has incorporated Turner's fiery palette, infusion of light and modulation of color into his own unique style that is thoroughly American in nature.
In Sunrise Landscape, and in the spirit of Turner, Moran uses the Western landscape as a source of inspiration, altering the actual scene for an artistic effect and to capture the character of the vision rather than accurately transcribe it. Moran alleged, "I place no value upon literal transcripts from nature. My general scope is not realistic; all my tendencies are toward idealization. Of course, all art must come through nature or naturalism, but I believe that a place, as a place, had no value in itself for the artist only so far as it furnishes the material from which to construct a picture." (as quoted in L. Nelson, "The Oil Paintings of Thomas Moran" in Thomas Moran, 1837-1926, exhibition catalogue, Riverside, California, 1963, p. 18)
In Sunrise Landscape, Moran masterfully blends harmonious tones of orange, yellow and green set within the glowing light of the waning day to create a pristine and heroic landscape. This work, as with the artist's other great depictions of the West, were and remain so appealing because they spoke to and aroused the viewer's romantic conceptions of the West. Paintings such as Sunrise Landscape conveyed the grandeur of the region to the American public, capturing their imagination and largely influencing their conception of the West. Today they are masterful works that capture a dynamic moment in the nation's expansion and a potent vision of a then distant region.
This painting will be included in Stephen L. Good's and Phyllis Braff's forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's work.