Thomas Moran Studies

Top: “Atmospheric Perspective,”(after Moran’s “In the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming”)
oil on canvas, 20″x10”

Middle: “Romantic Sublime,” (after Moran’s “Grand Canyon in Arizona”)
oil on panel, 16″x20″

Bottom: “Isle del Walpe,” (after Moran’s “Sunset, Pueblo del Walpe”)
oil on panel, 10″x8″

Port Townsend Gallery is presenting a Faux Show in the month of October. Each gallery member chooses an artist to focus on, then creates a body of work inspired by that artist.

I have spent some time studying the Hudson River School of American landscape painting the last year. Thus I chose to look at work by Thomas Moran, one of the masters of the romantic landscape.

All of our myths of the West were embodied in the late 19th century. As Rebecca Solnit states, the West was not so much discovered as it was invented. These artists came west with the survey teams and presented some of the first visuals of the continent to the masses back East, all part of the agenda to sell the idea of the west.

The last half of the nineteenth century was a world on the cusp. The world view at the time was that wilderness was boundless, that nature (and God) would provide whatever we asked for. It was, of course, part of our entitlement, our manifest destiny.

There is such a seductive power in these works, and understand that I truly enjoy the romantic school of art. They are beautiful both in aesthetics and in content. The ideals of the time are lovely, sublime, and unattainable.

I wanted to create a body of work that both honors this aesthetic and, at the same time, intentionally pulls the viewer back out of the pastoral landscape. This is the purpose of the text in “Romantic Sublime.” In “Isle del Walpe,” I used Moran’s composition but changed it from a desert landscape to a seascape. The last piece is a work in progress. I intend to add a map element to “Atmospheric Perspective,” drawing attention to the journey to the unattainable West.

I would love to hear feedback on this body of work.

Please join us at Port Townsend Gallery for the Faux Show, up through the month of October. The opening reception will be Saturday, October 2nd, from 5:30 to 8:00. 715 Water Street, Port Townsend Washington