On the Soda Butte Creek
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
1947.13.8
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Moran's *On the Soda Butte Creek*1892) is a captivating drawing that transports viewers to the rugged beauty of Wyoming's Rocky Mountains. Captured along the Soda Butte Creek—a pristine waterway in the Yellowstone region—this work exemplifies Moran's lifelong passion for America's wild frontiers. As a leading figure in the Hudson River School, Moran was for his luminous landscapes that blended romanticism with meticulous observation, often sketched en plein air during expeditions. Created in 1892, this drawing reflects Moran's continued exploration of the American West decades after hi...
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...