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拍品專文
The stunning and remarkable terrain of the American West engrossed the late nineteenth-century American public. Thomas Moran’s watercolors of the subject rank among the most significant accomplishments in the history of Western American art. Works such as Cliffs of Green River, Wyoming Territory remain as fresh and captivating to viewers today, as they act as important visual documents of the nation’s history.
Green River City, Wyoming was formally founded in 1868, having already served as a trading outpost and rendezvous site for Western trappers and explorers, owing in part to the extension of railway lines. However, Moran consciously omitted the presence of man and industrial encroachment, acknowledging instead the pure natural majesty and native inhabitants of the area. Writing of the inspiration the artist first found at Green River in 1871, Anne Morand states, “The cliffs were an ideal subject for Moran, satisfying his taste for unusual geographic formations and glorious natural color.” (Thomas Moran: The Field Sketches, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1996, p. 51)
Cliffs of Green River, Wyoming Territory is a powerful composition, defined by the perpetual freshness of Moran’s best Western watercolors. In this rare large scale format, the artist powerfully conveys the rugged beauty of the cliffs with a view of the commanding Castle Butte. The nearly cloudless blue sky is permeated by the distinct crystalline light of the sun that has risen just above the cliffs. Moran employs vibrant washes and masterfully varies his brushwork to capture the vitality of the landscape under the soft light of the low sun. The sun-dappled water harmoniously reflects the blue sky and oranges of the cliffs. At the base of the orange and violet hued cliffs, contrasting rich, deep greens of foliage bisect the composition. Representations like this, especially by Moran, were central to the development of Eastern interest in the wonders of the West, including their eventual protection; it was Moran’s watercolors of the 1870s that were instrumental in the creation of Yellowstone National Park.
In the foreground, two Native Americans allow their horses to drink from a serene bend in the river. Two additional riders retreat into the brush in the middle-ground at right. The figures, rendered with alarming detail, carry spears and are dressed in strikingly colorful, traditional attire. They impart an exotic element to the composition and present the viewer with the opportunity to imagine a narrative that enhances the spirit of the work, building on the mythology of the West. Cliffs of Green River, Wyoming Territory would surely have captured the imagination of Eastern audiences during its exhibition at the American Water Color Society in New York in 1883.
Cliffs of Green River, Wyoming Territory possesses the qualities of Moran’s best works on paper in the rarely seen scale of an oil painting, demonstrating the artist’s mastery of light, color and composition, as well as his ability to capture the spirit and essence of the early West.?
Green River City, Wyoming was formally founded in 1868, having already served as a trading outpost and rendezvous site for Western trappers and explorers, owing in part to the extension of railway lines. However, Moran consciously omitted the presence of man and industrial encroachment, acknowledging instead the pure natural majesty and native inhabitants of the area. Writing of the inspiration the artist first found at Green River in 1871, Anne Morand states, “The cliffs were an ideal subject for Moran, satisfying his taste for unusual geographic formations and glorious natural color.” (Thomas Moran: The Field Sketches, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1996, p. 51)
Cliffs of Green River, Wyoming Territory is a powerful composition, defined by the perpetual freshness of Moran’s best Western watercolors. In this rare large scale format, the artist powerfully conveys the rugged beauty of the cliffs with a view of the commanding Castle Butte. The nearly cloudless blue sky is permeated by the distinct crystalline light of the sun that has risen just above the cliffs. Moran employs vibrant washes and masterfully varies his brushwork to capture the vitality of the landscape under the soft light of the low sun. The sun-dappled water harmoniously reflects the blue sky and oranges of the cliffs. At the base of the orange and violet hued cliffs, contrasting rich, deep greens of foliage bisect the composition. Representations like this, especially by Moran, were central to the development of Eastern interest in the wonders of the West, including their eventual protection; it was Moran’s watercolors of the 1870s that were instrumental in the creation of Yellowstone National Park.
In the foreground, two Native Americans allow their horses to drink from a serene bend in the river. Two additional riders retreat into the brush in the middle-ground at right. The figures, rendered with alarming detail, carry spears and are dressed in strikingly colorful, traditional attire. They impart an exotic element to the composition and present the viewer with the opportunity to imagine a narrative that enhances the spirit of the work, building on the mythology of the West. Cliffs of Green River, Wyoming Territory would surely have captured the imagination of Eastern audiences during its exhibition at the American Water Color Society in New York in 1883.
Cliffs of Green River, Wyoming Territory possesses the qualities of Moran’s best works on paper in the rarely seen scale of an oil painting, demonstrating the artist’s mastery of light, color and composition, as well as his ability to capture the spirit and essence of the early West.?