View from Glenora, Stickeen River, Alaska

Famed for his monumental paintings of the American West, particularly of Yellowstone, Thomas Moran put the same emphasis on the epic grandeur of landscape into his illustrations for Scribner’s Monthly. In View from Glenora, Stickeen River, Alaska, Moran communicates the scale of the glacier looming over the river with the inclusion of a steam powered ship, which is literally dwarfed by the expansive natural wonder. Moran’s illustration, along with three others, complements W.H. Bell’s description of several days’ journey navigating rapids and trekking a glacier down the Stickeen River, then a part of British Columbia.

Artists frequently accompanied exploration parties of all kinds in the days before easily available photographic documentation. Moran’s sketches from his voyages would be turned into paintings, prints, and more finished drawings for publication upon his return to the studio. The popularity of Moran’s and other artists’ renderings encouraged the creation of the National Park Service in 1916.