American Art Collaborative

Thomas Moran usually painted scenes of grand western panoramas such as Yellowstone, but his etchings often depict intimate scenes of the northeastern United States. Passaic Meadows is exemplary of Moran’s more humble subject matter, showing the Newark Meadows in New Jersey, near the artist’s home in Long Island. In addition to his own compositions, Moran created several etchings based off the works of Charles François Daubigny and other artists, helping to disseminate Barbizon scenes and other European landscapes to American audiences. Moran was a key figure in the Etching Revival in America, paralleling the efforts of European artists such as Charles Émile Jacque to demonstrate etching’s potential as a medium for creative expression. Moran’s etchings also earned him several admirers in England, including the art critic and social thinker John Ruskin.