Thomas Moran "Grand Canyon of Arizona …" 1913

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Exceptional Finds Ancient, Ethno, Fine Art

By Artemis Gallery

Nov 15, 2024

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• Lot Description
  Thomas Moran (American, 1837-1926). "Grand Canyon of Arizona from Hermit Rim Road" chromolithograph, published by American Lithography Company, New York, NY for the Santa Fe Railway, 1913. Signed and dated 1912 (date for the original painting) in the plate. Thomas Moran joined John Wesley Powell on an expedition to the Grand Canyon in 1873. This chromolithograph is after a painting that Moran created depicting the Kaibab Plateau on the north rim. The composition features a picturesque view over the canyon rim and across the peaks framed by evergreens with a birds-eye view of the river below. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway used Moran's artwork to promote tourism. Interestingly, Moran's painting is still owned by the company. A grand view of the Grand Canyon by Thomas Moran on an impressively large size, mounted in custom, museum-quality framing with attractive fillets and a triple mat. Size (sight view): 25.25" L x 34.25" W (64.1 cm x 87 cm) Size (frame): 39.5" L x 48.75" W (100.3 cm x 123.8 cm)
  
  Another chromolithograph of Moran's "The Grand Canyon of Arizona, from Hermit Rim Road" is listed by Arader Galleries for $12,000 with a wonderful contextual description that reads in part, "To the great majority of Americans who did not have the resources or daring to travel to the West, Moran provided this image of the country's infinite potential as symbolized by its dramatic, unique landscape. The artist showed American expansion as a fated conclusion, a glorious destiny indelibly written in the literal stone of the country's landscape. Like so many Americans who found such startling significance in the landscape of the American West, Moran was not a native. He immigrated to the United States with his family in 1844 from his native England. Beginning as a wood engraver's apprentice in Philadelphia, he produced an extraordinarily broad range of works: designs for wood engravings, large dramatic oil paintings, small quiet watercolors, and delicate etchings. One of the most celebrated artists of the day, Moran was intimately in tune with the spirit of his age, and this, combined with his phenomenal artistic talent, accounts for much of his fame. Moran painted out of genuine passion, and was not simply responding to a commercial opportunity. For this reason he was uniquely able to understand and capture visually the symbolic significance of the American landscape, and his imagery resonated strongly with a populace hungry for views to complement their romantic conceptions of the distant frontier. Yet for all of his nostalgia, Moran was a realist. He recognized that the beauty of the West needed no embellishment, and his portrayals and views of the West presented it as it was.
  
  Thomas Moran's pictures of the West resonate perhaps even more strongly today than at the time of their production. The optimism visible in his work echoes with the experience of the remainder of the 20th century, and it is with increasing nostalgia for that time of infinite promise that today's viewers regard the artist's work. Moran's images have grown in appeal, rather than wane, and 'The Grand Canyon' represents an opportunity to acquire significant work by an unparalleled artist of the American West."
  
  Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection; Private collection of a Private Colorado Family
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #189746

  Condition

  Signed and dated 1912 (date for the original painting) in the plate at lower left below the tree. Mounted in a custom, museum-quality frame with a custom double matte (blue and white) behind glass. Chromolithograph has not been examined outside the frame but appears to be in overall excellent condition save minute nick to lower right edge. Framing has a few minor scuffs to peripheries but is otherwise excellent and fit with suspension wire to display.
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