# Near Meadow Creek, Utah

**Thomas Moran** (American, born England, 1837–1926)  
July 25, 1871  
Recto: Graphite, brush and black wash and white gouache on gray-green wove paper. Verso: Graphite on gray-green wove paper.  
12.8 x 20 cm (5 1/16 x 7 7/8 in.)

Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 1917-17-8. [The museum's record](https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/view/objects/asitem/id/21801).

## About this work

Recto: Horizontal view of the valley floor with Meadow Creek, rushing through in cnetral foreground surrounded by hills and mountains in middle ground and distance.

_Text from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum._

Thomas Moran painted this (July 25, 1871), aged 34. It is now at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York.

### 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.
- **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 34
- Real size: about 5 × 8 in (13 × 20 cm). The original is small: even the 8 × 10 in print shows it larger than life.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Hudson River School](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/hudson-river-school)
- Subjects: Landscapes
- 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/1722.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1722/1920.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; 30 × 40 in $148
- 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; 30 × 40 in $338
- 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; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- 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; 30 × 40 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/near-meadow-creek-utah-si-chndm-1917-17-8).