Thomas Moran was born in the city of Bolton, Lancashire, England in 1837. Bolton was largely an industrial cotton city which led Moran’s father and mother both being involved in the weaving business. The city was a hard place to live with large industrial buildings constantly sending swirls of smog to live in and jobs that pay less than needed to sustain a family. With this in mind, Moran’s father traveled to America in search of a better life. Two years later, when Moran was seven, his father sent for his family, who settled just outside of Philadelphia after a tumultuous journey across the sea. Moran’s life as an artist truly began when he procured an apprenticeship with a wood engraver after his sixteenth birthday. During this time …show more content…
Although all of his paintings are beautiful, this paper will focus on his painting “The Yellowstone River, Near the Crow Mission,” because of how important his work at Yellowstone National Park was to him and to America. The first thing to note about this painting is its color scheme. While the blue colors stand out vibrantly, when one looks close it is easy to see the painting subtly incorporates many different colors throughout it. Although the eye is drawn immediately to the mountains in the background, they quickly notice all the different details afterward, including the horseback riders in the foreground. This watercolor uses great atmospheric perspective, with the mountains disappearing into the background. The people in the foreground also convey to the viewer the vastness of the mountain range before them. Even though the blue mountain range in the background is the focal point and off-centered, it is balanced well by the people and the dark geysers in the foreground. The painting is mostly covered with color with what seems like saved white in places such as the sky to create the impression of a bright sun beaming down on the mountains. The clouds in the sky are detailed and created so that they look like they are moving making the painting more dynamic. Overall, the vibrant blues and earthy tones throughout the painting, detail, positioning and movement create a cool, lively, and interesting painting making it easy to understand why congress agreed to make Yellowstone a protected area of