THOMAS MORAN: Sunrise at Mid-Ocean 1907

Columbus is a place of rich culture, art and expression. The exquisite works of art in our community each have a unique story, an interesting nuisance, and heritage. Join SVM as we put them on exhibit for you.

Born February of 1837 in Bolton, England, Thomas Moran immigrated to America around 1844; his family settled in Kensington, a suburb of Philadelphia. While a teenager, Moran began his career as an artist by becoming an apprentice at the Philadelphia engraving firm of Scattergood and Telfer; he later withdrew from his apprenticeship and began working in his older brother's studio. This position benefited Moran greatly, not only with the advice of his brother, but also from James Hamilton, a well-known painter based in Philadelphia. Described by his contemporaries as the "American Turner," it is possible Hamilton sparked Moran's life-long interest in the work of English artist J.M.W. Turner. After studying the work of Turner in reproduction, in 1961, Moran traveled to London to study and copy his work at the National Gallery.

Establishing his reputation in the 1870s, he traveled widely throughout the west, including Yellowstone, where he was the first American painter to capture its grandeur, and even returned to Europe several times. Moran continued to paint well into his eighties, and at his death in August of 1926 in Santa Barbara, California, he was memorialized as the "Dean of American Landscape Painters." Moran, painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York, has works in many permanent collections including: the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and The White House. Painting in large scale, Moran's work captures the drama of the landscape in the western United States. His majestic works, along with the photographs by William Henry Jackson, were instrumental in Congress' decision to create the first U.S. national park at Yellowstone. Moran's inspiration from Turner can be noted in Sunrise at Mid-Ocean through the expansive sky with the roaring sea below capturing and reflecting the sun's light. The Sunrise at Mid-Ocean was a gift of Mike and Elizabeth Ogie to the Columbus Museum.