# Minerva Terrace, Yellowstone

**Thomas Moran** (American, born England, 1837–1926)  
1872  
watercolor and gouache with graphite on wove paper  
sheet: 28.58 × 22.86 cm (11 1/4 × 9 in.) mount: 30.48 × 26.67 cm (12 × 10 1/2 in.)

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2012.93.2. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.156720.html).

## About this work

The colourful terraced pools of Mammoth Hot Springs, stained yellow, orange, red and blue by minerals, step down towards us beneath a distant purple peak and a faint rainbow. Thomas Moran joined the 1871 government expedition led by Ferdinand Hayden to explore the Yellowstone region, and his watercolours, together with William Henry Jackson’s photographs, helped persuade Congress to establish Yellowstone as the first national park in 1872. Here he sets the view within a circle, as if seen through a lens.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Thomas Moran painted this in 1872, aged 35. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

This painting shows a view looking out over a vast landscape. Most of the painting is circular, with a small part of the bottom bleeding out of the circle towards us. The top third of the circle shows a mountain range with a large purple peak in the distance. In front of the mountain is a faint rainbow. A body of water flows from in front of the mountain to the bottom of the painting, weaving in between shorter white peaks. Towards the bottom, the water appears to flow into small, layered pools of various bright colors including yellow, orange, red, pink, blue, and teal. The sky is a light blue-gray color. The background of the painting outside of the circle is plain paper.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### 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.
- **Graphite.** Pencil. Graphite has been used for drawing since the 1500s; in 1795 Nicolas-Jacques Conté mixed it with clay, so its hardness could be graded.

### [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: Drawing
- The artist was 35
- Real size: about 11 × 9 in (29 × 23 cm). The 8 × 10 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Hudson River School](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/hudson-river-school)
- Subjects: Landscape, Park, Mountain, Yellowstone National Park
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1681.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1681/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

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/minerva-terrace-yellowstone-nga-156720).