Big Horn, Tongue River
1892
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. William Henry Holmes
Accession Number
1947.13.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Moran’s 1892 drawing *Big Horn, Tongue River* captures the rugged beauty of Wyoming’s Rocky Mountain landscape along the Tongue River. Created during a period when American artists were documenting the vast largely uncharted territories of the West, the work highlights the dramatic rock formations and natural drama of the region. As a drawing, it offers an intimate, on-the-spot record of the terrain, allowing viewers to appreciate the raw textures of stone and water that define this remote area. Housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum as a gift from Dr. William Henry Holmes, the ...
About the Artist
Thomas Moran · 1837–1926
Thomas Moran (1837–1926) was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School whose dramatic paintings of the American West played a pivotal role in the creation of the national parks. Born in Bolton, Lancashire, England, he emigrated with his family to Philadelphia as a child. He was largely self-taught, though he apprenticed briefly with a wood engraver and studied the work of J.M.W...