Documents Project #5
Project
Title: Thomas Moran and "Grand Canyon of
the Yellowstone"
Document:
Click on the picture above for a larger view.
Source:
Thomas Moran,
"Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone," 1872, 84 inches high by 144 inches
wide, oil
paint on canvas, once on display at the Capitol building, currently at
the Department of the Interior Museum, Washington,
DC
Background:
Thomas Moran first became interested in the Yellowstone valley
when he was asked to create illustrations for a magazine article.
He had to see this wonderland for himself, so he went along with a
Geological Survey expedition in 1871. On this trip he made
numerous sketches and quick watercolors. Later, in his studio, he
created the giant oil painting show below. (See the National Park
Service exhibit
web site American Visionaries: Thomas Moran at http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/moran/yellow.htm.)
Document:
Click on the picture above for a larger view.
Questions:
- This painting is 12 feet wide. Why did the artist make such a large painting?
- Figures appear in this painting. Describe them and explain why Moran may have painted them the way he did.
- What kinds of hardships did Thomas Moran, an artist from Philadelphia, have to endure in order to create his paintings of the Valley of the Yellowstone?
- The paintings of Thomas Moran were often given to Congress. Why might certain Americans want to give Moran paintings to Congress?
- At Moran's death in 1927, the Director of the National Park
Service said that Moran proved that an American "did not have to leave
his native shores to look on something more wonderful than the
Alps." Why was this important for Americans?