Tropical Scenery, The Terminus of the Proposed Canal, Limon Bay
1871
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
Image: 20 x 27.3 cm (7 7/8 x 10 3/4 in.) Mount: 30.5 x 38.2 cm (12 x 15 1/16 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.934
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1871, American photographer John Moran captured *Tropical Scenery, Terminus of the Proposed, Limon Bay* using the albumen silver print process from a glass negative. This 20 x 27.3 cm landscape image vividly depicts the lush, untamed shores of Limon Bay in present-day Panama, highlighting the strategic endpoint envisioned for a ambitious trans-isthmian canal. Moran's composition draws viewers into a verdant paradise of dense foliage, calm waters, and distant hills, evoking the era's fascination with tropical exploration and engineering feats. The photograph holds historical significance as...
About the Artist
John Moran · 1821–1903
John Moran (1821–1903) was a British-born American landscape painter and photographer who became a significant figure in the artistic life of Philadelphia during the second half of the nineteenth century. Born in Bolton, Lancashire, England, he emigrated to the United States as a young man and settled in Philadelphia, where he became closely associated with one of the most remarkable artistic fami...