Solitude - Masterpiece Jigsaw Puzzle
Thomas Moran (American 1837-1926)
Laurel Ink 500 piece puzzles measure 18" x 24".
Retail $12.95

Solitude (from back of puzzle box)
Thomas Moran (American 1837-1926)
The Hudson River School, active from the 1820's to the 1870's, was the first American school of art. Thomas Cole and Asher Durand, who both searched the Hudson Valley of New England for new, exciting and uniquely American images, initially led the movement. The style launched an era that, for the first time, focused on American art rather than European art, culminating in the formation of the National Academy of Design. Often referred to as the Romantic Realists, the artist combined panoramic, painstakingly detailed image and intensely rich colors with moral messages. The landscape of America was seen not only as patriotic symbol but also as a vehicle for expressing the deep religious and romantic feelings of the time.

As the American frontier moved westward, a second generation of Hudson River artist such as Albert Bierstadt and Frederic Church traveled to the far west and beyond to explore the country's relationship to the land. Their works were not merely topographic, but also provide interpretive and poetic views of nature through the symbolic us of light and darkness and the contrast of diverse elements.

By the 1870's, the style was considered unfashionable and the school suffered a temporary decline in popular and critical favor. Today these lrge, idyllic landscapes are highly esteemed and hold an eminent position in our national art.

Born in Bolton, Lancashire, England, in 1837, Thomas Moran immigrated to America with his family in 1844. Of the seven Moran children, four became well known artist. His older brother, Edward, with whom he traveled and shared a studio, was perhaps his most influential teacher. Thomas experimented with pencil, charcoal, ink, wood engraving, watercolor and oil. By the time Moran was twenty-one, one of his paintings was exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

Largely self-taught, Moran went to Europe in 1862 to study the works of J.M.W. Turner and French landscape painter Claude Lorrain. Both artists made a great impression on Moran and, after his return to the United States, he became engrossed in painting landscapes of America. His prolific Western paintings were often reprinted on calendars, and in 1870 he was commissioned by Scibner's Monthly to illustrate the first scientific exploration of the Yellowstone Valley. For the rest of his life, Moran mad recurring trips west to record panoramic views and work for the preservation of the American frontier.

New: packaged/shrink wrapped 14"x14" boxed.

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