Artist:
Thomas Moran
(American, 1837 - 1926)
A Passing Shower
Medium: Oil on wood panel
Date: 1885
Dimensions:
12 1/2 × 22 in. (31.8 × 55.9 cm)
Accession number: 2016.11.20
Label Copy:
Like Albert Bierstadt and his panoramic paintings of the West, English-born Thomas Moran’s reputation rests on his celebrated views of Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. His extraordinary images of these scenic wonders astonished the American public and became a catalyst for the birth of the National Park System.
Shortly before this work was painted, Moran built a cottage and studio in East Hampton, New York. There the artist made a remarkable series of works quite unlike the supercharged drama of his Western scenes. In this intimately scaled work, with its subdued palette, Moran used rapid strokes to depict a small sailboat taking refuge from the approaching storm, dramatically rendered by the mass of dark clouds.
Like Albert Bierstadt and his panoramic paintings of the West, English-born Thomas Moran’s reputation rests on his celebrated views of Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. His extraordinary images of these scenic wonders astonished the American public and became a catalyst for the birth of the National Park System.
Shortly before this work was painted, Moran built a cottage and studio in East Hampton, New York. There the artist made a remarkable series of works quite unlike the supercharged drama of his Western scenes. In this intimately scaled work, with its subdued palette, Moran used rapid strokes to depict a small sailboat taking refuge from the approaching storm, dramatically rendered by the mass of dark clouds.