Thomas Moran [1837-1922] Hot Springs on Gardiner’s River, Cap of Liberty

Description

Thomas Moran joined Ferdinand V. Hayden’s U.S. Geological Survey, along with photographer William Henry Jackson, in 1871. Moran’s and Jackson’s widespread documentation in drawings, paintings, and photographs of what was to become Yellowstone National Park had an enormous impact on Congress’s decision to declare the region a national park. On this trip Moran painted his two most famous works, <i>The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone</i> and <i>The Chasm of the Colorado</i>, both of which were purchased by Congress for the previously unheard-of sum of $10,000 each.