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Highlights

Edward Moran (American 1829-1901)

19th Century Fine Art Legacy

Moran was born at Bolton-le Moor, Lancashire, August 19, 1829, the oldest child of a large family. As a child he was put to work at the loom, following in the footsteps of his father and his ancestors who were hand-loom weavers. When Moran was nine, a decorator in Bolton recognized talent in young Moran and guided him in the art of cutting figures from paper and draw their outlines on walls and fences. Circa 1844, he immigrated to the United States with his family; they settled in Baltimore, Maryland. where his father found work in a textile factory and Edward also worked at the loom.

Circa 1845 Moran went in search of better opportunities and toward that end walked all the way from Baltimore to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania without a dollar in his pocket. He found work with a cabinet maker, in a bronzing shop, and as a house painter, but soon returned to the loom -- this time as a power loom weaver, and when Moran was 22, he had risen to a "power loom boss." However, in a twist of fate, the factory owner caught him in the act of drawing (possibly on a bolt of white cloth) instead of minding his loom, and like his mentor in Bolton, the owner recognized Moran's talent and advised him to quit "mechanical labor." The owner went further and introduced him to Paul Weber, a well-known Philadelphia landscape painter at that time. It was Philadelphia marine painter, James Hamilton who further advised him to leave the factory, so after seven years at the loom, Moran left and became a pupil of Hamilton's. Moran progressed rapidly in marine painting and soon became a rival to Hamilton. He would open a studio in the attic over a cigar store.

In 1854 he exhibited his first painting, View of the Susquehanna at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, and the following year, 1855, exhibited four additional paintings. His younger brother, Thomas, came to live with that year. The two brothers shared a studio in Philadelphia and Thomas received art instruction from Edward. By 1857, Moran was established as an artist in Philadelphia and was being patronized by prominent Philadelphians, in addition to being given attention in art magazines. In 1859 Moran married Elizabeth McManes in 1859 and his younger brother Peter came to live with them and to receive art instruction. Edward and Elizabeth had two children, Edward Percy and John Leon who became artists.

Moran and his brother Thomas visited England in circa 1861 and Edward enrolled inn the Royal Academy. In London, both brothers were quite taken with the paintings of Joseph M.W. Turner's. Turner's influence on both brothers can be seen in their work after this visit -- Edwards's marines, always skillfully rendered, thenceforth tended to be painted with bit more of the Turneresque drama.

In addition to being a highly skilled artist, Moran was a man of a genial nature and was well-liked; however, in 1868 when the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts hung his paintings in a less than favorable location in the gallery, Moran, in a fit of pique, prior to the opening of the exhibition to the public, used a mixture of beer and porter, combined with a dry light red, to varnish his paintings so that they were rendered unrecognizable. Fortunately, the mixture was removable by Moran without damaging the paintings. The waters were smoothed over; however, Moran later resigned from the Academy.

His wife, Elizabeth, had died in 1869, and shortly after her death, Moran married Annette Parmentier, with whom he had a son, Thomas Sidney, also a painter. Annette was tutored in art by her husband and her paintings were received favorably by art critics of the time. In 1871 he permanently moved with his family to New York City, where he opened his "studio castle" on the shores of Staten Island.

In preparation of a trip to Paris, France in 1877, Moran sent 65 of his paintings and some of his collected works of other artists to auction. Perhaps this trip was inspired by his meeting with Frédéric A. Bartholdi in 1876 at the dedication of Barthold's statue of Marquis de Lafayette in Union Square and also hearing of the sculptor's idea for a statue to be erected in New York Habor, Liberty Enlightening the World – our Statue of Liberty. Later that year, Moran painted The Commerce of Nations Paying Homage to Liberty, which was displayed at a reception in Bartholdi's honor. His trip to France, introduced him to the work of the Barbizon plein air artists and also apparently sparked his interest in figure painting, as he included people more frequently in paintings than he had in his previous works. After his return to New York in 1879, he exhibited paintings done in Europe at the National Academy of Design and the Brooklyn Art Association.

A tireless worker, in 1891, Moran changed his focus to painting a series of 13 large historical scenes, depicting he maritime history of America. This crowning achievement, began with a simple, but dramatic painting of the highway of all nations – the ocean, followed by 12 paintings depicting important events from the year 1001 A.D. up to the time of the Spanish American War. They were first exhibited in Philadelphia in 1901. Moran did not live to see them exhibited in New York City. He died, after the Philadelphia exhibition, from Bright's disease and, as many believed from, as newspapers of that time reported, from overwork, describing him as his being in his studio from early morning to late at night.

Use only with permission of Bedford Fine Art Gallery

References:

  1. Falk, Peter, ed., 1999, Who Was Who in American Art, Sound View Press, Madison, CT.
  2. https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-herald-oct-19-1872-p-43/.
  3. https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-times-jun-10-1901-p-7/.
  4. https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-sun-jun-10-1901-p-1/.
  5. Kalfatovic, Martin R. 1999, Edward Moran biography, in American National Biography, Oxford University Press.
  6. Milano, Kenneth W., Edward Moran, Philadelphia Genealogy Research Services, included on Americanartgallery.org, accessed August, 2024.
  7. Sutro, Theodore, 1905, Thirteen Chapters of American History Represented By the Edward Moran Series of Thirteen Marine Paintings, The & Taylor Co, New York.
  8. Zellman, Michael, David, 1987, 300 Years of American Art, Volume I, pg. 288, Wellfleet Press.

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