Edward Moran
19th Century American Seascape Artist/Painter
Spectacular Seascape Painting on Board
One of the most desirable of all seascape painters. Here is a stunning Edward Moran seascape on board. The condition is excellent (no chipping or damage or fading) with gorgeous bright colors. A terrific scene with multiple ships and boats in rough seas.
As Moran was known to paint often scenes of NY Harbor this may be one of them. Is housed in a beautiful period frame.
Edward Moran is a HIGHLY listed artist with very strong sales records. About 20% of his listed work (121 listings with our source) has sold for over $50,000, the highest being $192,000 in May 2007 at Sotheby's in New York. One of the best seascapes we have ever acquired!
Size: 10x18" without frame, 15x23" framed.
Signed lower left "Edw. Moran". See additional images below (click to enlarge)
(Note: you may see a slight reflection in upper left of image from trees in the background as the frame has glass on the front.So the original has more blue sky in that area then the image depicts, see unframed image which has no reflection).
Bio:
Edward Moran (August 19, 1829 in Bolton, Lancashire, England – June 8, 1901 in New York City) was an American artist
Born in England, Edward Moran is best known for his marine paintings, and is credited with the Moran family's entry into the art world.
His family immigrated to Maryland in 1844 from Lancashire, England, where his father was a hand loom weaver. Edward, who was one of twelve children, left home to work in a cotton factory in Philadelphia. He impressed his employer with the large, wall-sized, sketches he did, and was encouraged to pursue art as a career.
Moran emigrated with his family to America at the age of 15, and subsequently settled in Philadelphia, where after having followed his fathers trade of weaver, he became a pupil of James Hamilton and Paul Weber. In 1862 he became a pupil of the Royal Academy in London; he established a studio in New York in 1872, and for many years after 1877 lived in Paris. He was a painter of marine subjects and examples of his work such as “Devil’s Crag; Island of Grand Manan” are in many prominent collections. Among his canvases are 13 historical paintings, intended to illustrate the marine history of America from the time of Leif Ericsson to the return of Admiral Dewey's fleet from the Philippines in 1899.
His sons Edward Percy Moran (born 1862) and Leon Moran (born 1864), and his brothers Peter Moran (born 1842) and Thomas Moran (member of Hayden Geological Survey of 1871), as well as his nephew Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, also became prominent American artists.
Born in Bolton, Lancashire, England in 1829, this pivotal marine impressionist emigrated to the United States at the age of 15 where he became a pupil of Philadelphia marine artist James Hamilton. With his younger artist brother, Thomas, he returned to England and studied at the Royal Academy and received additional instruction at the Paris Academy, which built a strong European influence in his work.
In 1871 he settled permanently in New York and began a successful career painting marines, landscapes and historical subjects. He became best known for his seascapes that showed a strong influence by Turner. A series he created of thirteen paintings of important epochs in American maritime history were widely exhibited and later were acquired by the New York Public Library, helping to establish Edward Moran as one of the most important marine artists of the period.
Moran's marine paintings are dramatically conceived, with brilliant sunsets, vibrant blue green seas and glowing background color. Many of his works feature New York harbor where he spent most of his active career and where he died in 1901.
Bibliography:
Moran's works are included in the collections of the U.S. Naval Academy; the Museum of the City of New York; the Philadelphia Athenaeum; and others. The Moran Family Papers are part of the Long Island Collection, East Hampton Free Library, N.Y. Moran's primary statement on his art is contained in two articles on marine painting for Art Amateur 19 (Oct. 1888): 101-3, and 19 (Nov. 1888): 127-28. Moran was profiled in "American Painter--Edward Moran," Art Journal (Sept. 1880): 258-59. Theodore Sutro, Thirteen Chapters of American History Represented by the Edward Moran Series of Thirteen Historical Marine Paintings (1905), includes a romantic sketch of the artist's life in unabashedly idolatrous terms; his account of Moran's early life is often at odds with the historical record. The catalog accompanying the exhibition at the Delaware Art Museum, Edward Moran (1829-1901), American Marine and Landscape Painter (1979), includes a useful biography by Paul D. Schweizer. A small exhibition brochure from the Heckscher Museum of Art, The Moran Family (1965), includes a useful family tree showing the relationships of the numerous artists in the Moran family. An obituary is in the New York Times, 10 June 1901.
