Collections Only

Gilcrease Museum is temporarily closed for construction.

Get the Full Story
  1. Collections Home

Thomas Moran Highlights, 1850s

2 Items

Bridge over the Schuylkill, Philadelphia

Bridge over the Schuylkill, Philadelphia displays the young Thomas Moran’s budding talent with a challenging medium, watercolor. Using a limited palette of browns, blues, and greens, Moran deftly portrays an African American man fishing in the calm waters of the Schuylkill River, with the bridge and the Neoclassical architecture of Fairmount Water Works providing the backdrop. Moran made two distinctive choices in creating this image, both potentially emblematic of an appeal to civic pride.

Read More

Fairmount Water Works, Philadelphia

From his family’s home in Philadelphia, the young Thomas Moran easily found scenes to challenge his artistic talents, as seen in watercolors such as Bridge over the Schuylkill, Philadelphia (02.798) and this sketch, Fairmount Water Works. Although Moran is best known for his landscapes, the artist did not shun the architectural and engineering wonders of the city. The Fairmount Water Works, housed in buildings inspired by ancient Greco-Roman structures, was one of Philadelphia’s most celebrated technological achievements.

Read More