# Above Tower Falls, Yellowstone

**Thomas Moran** (American, born England, 1837–1926)  
1872  
watercolor and gouache on paper  
sheet: 15 x 10 1/2 in. (38.1 x 26.7 cm)

Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1958.5.3. [The museum's record](https://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=17812).

## About this work

Thomas Moran painted this in 1872, aged 35. It is now at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC.

### How it was made

- **Opaque watercolour.** Watercolour made opaque with white or chalk and laid in flat, even layers. Persian and Indian painters ground their colours from minerals, applied them with the finest brushes and burnished the finished page.
- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.

### [Thomas Moran](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/thomas-moran)

American, born England, 1837–1926

Moran came to Philadelphia from England as a child, trained as a wood engraver and largely taught himself to paint, deeply influenced by Turner’s work, which he studied in London. In 1871 he joined Ferdinand Hayden’s survey of Yellowstone, and his sketches and paintings from it helped persuade Congress to create the first national park in 1872. He returned to the American West many times, painting the Grand Canyon, the Tetons and Yosemite on a grand scale.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- The artist was 35
- Real size: about 15 × 11 in (38 × 27 cm). The 11 × 14 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Hudson River School](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/hudson-river-school)
- Subjects: Yellowstone National Park, Landscapes, Tower Falls, Waterfalls, Rocks, Tower Creek, Rivers, Parks
- Colour: olive
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1916.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1916/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/above-tower-falls-yellowstone-si-saam-1958-5-3).