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Lot Essay
This work will be included in Stephen L. Good's and Phyllis Braff's forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's work.
In 1882, Thomas Moran embarked from New York for the Gulf Coast city of Vera Cruz, Mexico, likely at the bequest of the Mexican National Railroad, to produce picturesque views of the region to stimulate commercial use of the railroad. Upon his arrival, Moran was immediately enthralled, creating numerous sketches of the unique architecture of the small port city. Moran proclaimed Vera Cruz to be “the most picturesque city on the Western Continent.” (as quoted in A.T. Wilkins, Thomas Moran: Artist of the Mountains, Norman, Oklahoma, 1966, p. 234) No doubt Moran was also impressed by Pico de Orizaba, the highest peak in Mexico and the third highest in North America, seen in the distance of the present work at right.
Working in earnest in both pencil and watercolor, the vast group of field sketches that resulted from this tour of Mexico, including many of the Castle of San Juan d'Ulloa (visible in the center of the present composition), proved to be the largest assortment of their kind that Moran would ever compile from a single journey. These sketches provided the basis for works Moran completed back in his New York studio, such as Vera Cruz Harbor, Mexico.
One critic observed of Moran’s Vera Cruz imagery, “He filled the sky above the castle with light-suffused clouds, he dipped the powerful walls in a warm and gentle effulgence that clothes them with beauty, he led the minor craft of the harbor over a gleaming sea to the clustered sailboats at the shoreline.” (“American Etching Indebted to Moran,” The New York Times, September 19, 1926)
In 1882, Thomas Moran embarked from New York for the Gulf Coast city of Vera Cruz, Mexico, likely at the bequest of the Mexican National Railroad, to produce picturesque views of the region to stimulate commercial use of the railroad. Upon his arrival, Moran was immediately enthralled, creating numerous sketches of the unique architecture of the small port city. Moran proclaimed Vera Cruz to be “the most picturesque city on the Western Continent.” (as quoted in A.T. Wilkins, Thomas Moran: Artist of the Mountains, Norman, Oklahoma, 1966, p. 234) No doubt Moran was also impressed by Pico de Orizaba, the highest peak in Mexico and the third highest in North America, seen in the distance of the present work at right.
Working in earnest in both pencil and watercolor, the vast group of field sketches that resulted from this tour of Mexico, including many of the Castle of San Juan d'Ulloa (visible in the center of the present composition), proved to be the largest assortment of their kind that Moran would ever compile from a single journey. These sketches provided the basis for works Moran completed back in his New York studio, such as Vera Cruz Harbor, Mexico.
One critic observed of Moran’s Vera Cruz imagery, “He filled the sky above the castle with light-suffused clouds, he dipped the powerful walls in a warm and gentle effulgence that clothes them with beauty, he led the minor craft of the harbor over a gleaming sea to the clustered sailboats at the shoreline.” (“American Etching Indebted to Moran,” The New York Times, September 19, 1926)