PLEIN AIR HERITAGE
An invitation to join the first formal expedition to Yellowstone in 1871 set English-born Thomas Moran (1837–1926) on the unlikely path to becoming one of the best-known names in Western American art. His paintings documenting the geological wonders of the area earned him a spot on John Wesley Powell’s third exploratory trip to the Grand Canyon just two years later. Traveling by boat down the Colorado River, Moran worked furiously every time Powell’s troop pulled ashore to rest, making sketches of the magnificent scenery that he would later turn into more formal, polished paintings back in his studio. Of the Grand Canyon, the artist said, “It was by far the most awfully grand and impressive scene that I have ever yet seen.” In this view of Zoroaster Peak, now known as Zoroaster…