The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 25, 2022

The Ruby Range, Nevada

1879

Thomas Moran

(American, 1837-1926)

America, 19th century

Watercolor, gouache and graphite

Support: Gray wove paper

Sheet: 19.6 x 36.2 cm (7 11/16 x 14 1/4 in.)

Bequest of Mrs. Henry A. Everett for the Dorothy Burnham Everett Memorial Collection 1938.67

Location

not on view

Description

Moran is especially well known for his sweeping views of remote areas in the American West. A gifted watercolorist who was deeply influenced by J. M. W. Turner, Moran found a realistic equivalent for the Englishman’s art in the strange hues of the mountains of Wyoming and Nevada, the bubbling springs and vaporous geysers of Yellowstone, and the fantastic rock formations of Arizona. Although he
enjoyed dramatic effects, Moran did not exaggerate the spectacular landscapes of the West; watercolors such as Ruby Range are accurate even in their surprising palettes, achieving an almost visionary intensity.

Inscriptions

Inscription

signed, lower left, in graphite: The Ruby Range / Nevada Aug 8th --79. TMoran. / TM ; by artist, lower right, in graphite [partially erased]: The Ruby Range Nevada / Aug 8th TM

Exhibition history

Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; 4/19/98 - 7/12/98. "American Drawings from the Permanent Collection."

Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; 8/15/04-11/14/04. "Nature Sublime: Landscapes from the 19th Century". No exhibition catalogue.

Watercolors and Drawings form the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-28, 1939).

The Most Remarkable Scenery: Thomas Moran's Watercolors of the American West. Amon Carter Museum (organizer) (May 23-July 13, 1980); The Cleveland Museum of Art (August 5-October 5, 1980); Yale University Art Gallery (October 23, 1980-January 4, 1981).

Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982).

America Draws. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1984-March 17, 1985).

Visions of the American West. Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Perth, Australia (December 15, 1986-February 7, 1987); Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (co-organizer) (February 23-April 6, 1987).

American Drawings from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (April 19-July 12, 1998).

Nature Sublime: Landscapes from the 19th Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 15-November 14, 2004).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1938.67