Thomas Moran

Do you own a work by Thomas Moran and would you like to know more about its value? Our Experts will carry out a free appraisal of your painting, to provide you with an estimate of the market price, then assist you to sell at the best price.

Status, estimate and price of the artist Thomas Moran

Price of a painting: 10 900 – 8,000,000 €.

Estimate of a drawing: 1 400 – 1 400,000 €.

Estimation of a print: 110 – 2 700 €.

If you would like to have a work by Thomas Moran appraised, our experts will take care of everything.

Watercolour and illustration

Thomas Moran is an American painter from the Hudson River School. He was born on February 12, 1837 in Bolton, England and died on August 25, 1926 in Santa Barbara, California. He is known for his frequent depictions of the Rocky Mountains.

Even though he was born in England, Thomas Moran began his career as an artist in the United States. He became an apprentice in a woodcutting studio at Scattergood & Telfer in Philadelphia as a teenager and became interested in watercolour in his spare time. Thomas Moran, his wife, engraver and landscape artist Mary Nimmo Moran and his daughter move to New York City where he is paid as an artist. He earned his living as an illustrator at Scribner’s Monthly in the mid-1850s. In the late 1860s, Thomas Moran was appointed chief illustrator of the magazine. He met the painter James Hamilton who introduced him to the works of the English master J.M.W. Turner. In 1862, Thomas Moran returned to England to study Turner’s techniques, whose colours influenced him. Most of his works are done in watercolour, a work for which he is renowned, but the artist mastered woodcutting as well as etching and lithography.

Thomas Moran and Yellowstone Park

Thomas Moran is a member of the Rocky Mountain School whose members are also Thomas Hill, Albert Bierstadt and William Keith. He is also considered one of the leaders in the revival of etching in Britain and the United States. In 1871, the director of the United States Geological Survey, Mr. Hayden invited Thomas Moran to join their expedition team to venture into the as yet unknown Yellowstone region. During these four days, he represented over 30 different sites and wrote a logbook that allowed the United States Congress to establish the Yellowstone area as a national park in 1872. That same year, he painted The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone which was purchased for $10,000 by the government. His work Chasm of the Colorado (1873) can be found at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington. He was named a member of the National Academy of Design in 1884.

Mount Moran, located in Grand Teton National Park, is named in his honour. In addition, the Thomas Moran House in East Hampton has become a historic building. US President Barack Obama hung his 1895 painting The Three Tetons in the Oval Office of the White House.

Recognising Thomas Moran’s signature

Like many artists, Thomas Moran did not sign all of his works. However, you will find below an example of a signature in order to give you a first idea. Variations of this signature exist: do not hesitate to contact one of our experts to authenticate a signature in a formal way.

Appraising and selling a painting by Thomas Moran

If you own a painting or any other sculpture by Thomas Moran, ask for a free estimate via our online form.

You will then be contacted by a member of our team of experts and auctioneers to give you an independent view of the market price of your painting. In the event of a sale, our specialists will also advise you on the various options available to sell your work at the best price.