Thomas Moran, The Yellowstone National Park, and the Mountain Regions of Portions of Idaho, Nevada, Colorado and Utah. Boston: L. Prang and Company, 1876.

Thomas Moran

The Yellowstone National Park, and the Mountain Regions of Portions of Idaho, Nevada, Colorado and Utah.

Boston: L. Prang and Company, 1876.

15 Stunning chromolithographs of Yellowstone and the West by Thomas Moran.

After seeing examples of Moran's work, Ferdinand Hayden, a geologist noted for his pioneering surveying expeditions of the Rocky Mountains, invited him on the 1871 geological survey of Yellowstone. The result was an astounding collection of paintings, one of which was purchased by Congress in 1872 for $10,000. These depictions helped illustrate the unique and majestic nature of the area, smoothing the way for Yellowstone to become the first National Park the following year.."

This beautiful production left an indelible impression on the American imagination, a vision of the West both bold and unique. As Kinsey notes, Moran's work was in many ways the origin of a lasting vision of the American West, as well as the "finest example of chromolithography ever produced" (Kinsey, Thomas Moran's West: Chromolithography, High Art, and Popular Taste, Lawrence, KS, 2006).

 

 

From the Gilcrease Museum :

‘The wondrous scenery of the Yellowstone region was first seen in color by a large audience through publication of The Yellowstone National Park, and the Mountain Regions of Portions of

Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, and Utah. Issued in 1876 by Louis Prang, the volume contains text

written by Ferdinand V. Hayden and fifteen chromolithographs based upon watercolors

by Thomas Moran.

 

In 1871 Dr. Hayden led the U.S. Geological Survey into the region that, within a year, would

become Yellowstone National Park. Hayden, interested in all aspects of the development of

the West, was mindful that tourism might be significant in the future of the area. His expedition included scientists, engineers, photographer William Henry Jackson and an unofficial member;  the artist Thomas Moran.

 

In the introduction to The Yellowstone National Park, and the Mountain Regions of Portions of

Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, and Utah, Hayden wrote: "So strange, indeed are the freaks of color which nature indulges in habitually in this wonderful country, that it will no doubt require strong faith on the part of the reader in the truthfulness of both artist and writer ... It is a just subject for national pride to see a work of this character, which takes equal rank with anything of the kind ever undertaken in Europe, produced wholly on American soil."

 

Thomas Moran was an artist well qualified to paint the extraordinary vistas of the Yellowstone and surrounding regions. He had studied the work of important American and European artists and painted landscapes in remote areas throughout the Northeastern United States. Moran proved himself to be an excellent interpreter of the natural wonders of the West: The 1871 excursion became the first of many journeys throughout the western United States, and as a result Moran's name became linked with the majestic scenery of America.

 

The publication of The Yellowstone National Park, and the Mountain Regions of Portions of

Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, and Utah was a remarkable undertaking and in fine art printing it established a new standard. The project originated with Louis Prang, a successful commercial lithographer and publisher, who expanded his business into the reproduction of paintings. Moran collaborated with Prang to select the subjects of images which were reproduced. His watercolors, with sharp delineation and clear color worked well for the chromolithographic process. Chromolithography demands a sophisticated understanding of color and precise registration of each stone used in the process. Every color is applied to a separate lithographic stone and the colors create the picture itself. When the volume was published it was received with enthusiasm.

The weekly publication Nation commended Prang for undertaking so costly an enterprise

and testified to the remarkable accurate colors of the chomolithographs.

 

The original volume of The Yellowstone National Park, and the Mountain Regions of Portions of

Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, and Utah in the Gilcrease Museum collection was probably owned by Thomas Moran and was included in his estate when purchased by Thomas Gilcrease in 1876.’

 

Sarah Erwin, Gilcrease Museum, Curator of Archival Collections

 

 

Comparable Auction Result:

Hayden, Ferdinand V., 1829-87

- The Yellowstone National Park, and the Mountain Regions of Portions of Idaho, Nevada, Colorado and Utah.

Bost.: L. Prang, 1876

Illus by Thomas Moran

Folio, cloth

rubbed, library pocket

With 15 chromolitho plates mtd on card & 2 litho maps.

Tp soiled; final text leaf & terminal blanks with marginal dampstaining

Snider copy

Christie's New York, Jun 21, 2005, lot 322, $320,000

Howes H338; Bennett 80; Russell 100