{{Short description|English-born American maritime artist (1829–1901)}} {{Other people}} {{Use American English|date=February 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox artist | name = Edward Moran | image = Edward Moran, late 1860s.jpg | image_size = 220 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1829|8|19}} | birth_place = Bolton, Lancashire | death_date = {{death date and age|1901|6|8|1829|8|19}} | death_place = New York City, US | caption = Moran in the 1860s | known_for = Marine art | alma_mater = Royal Academy }}

'''Edward Moran''' (August 19, 1829{{snd}}June 8, 1901) was an English-born American painter who specialized in marine art. He is best known for his series of thirteen paintings on the maritime history of the United States.

==Early life== Moran was born to Thomas Moran Sr. and Mary (née Higson) of Lancashire, England on August 19, 1829.<ref>Schweizer, P. D., Moran, E., Delaware Art Museum., & Mariners' Museum (Newport News, Va.). (1979). [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5336562 Edward Moran, (1829-1901), American marine and landscape painter: Exhibition, Delaware Art Museum, April 27-June 3, 1979, the Mariners Museum, June 17-August 5, 1979]. Wilmington: Delaware Art Museum.</ref> Following in the footsteps of his father's profession, he learned to operate a hand-loom at a young age, though he would often be found sketching with charcoal on the white fabric instead of plying the shuttle.<ref name=":0">Sutro, T. (1905). [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/652021 Thirteen chapters of American history: Represented by the Edward Moran series of thirteen historical marine paintings]. New York?.</ref>

His family first emigrated to Maryland in 1844, and then to Philadelphia a year later. Though Moran loved to regale others with a tale of walking alone from Baltimore to Philadelphia in order to find a better future for himself, his niece has declared that the entire family moved to the city together.<ref name=":1">[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/270700793 Down to the sea]. (January 1, 1967). American Heritage, 18, 4, 40-55.</ref>

==Career== thumb|Moran in his studio, {{circa|1870}}.

It was in Philadelphia around 1845 that Edward apprenticed under James Hamilton and landscape painter Paul Weber;<ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Moran, Edward|volume=18|page=815}}</ref> Hamilton guided Moran specifically in the style of marine paintings. In the 1850s, Moran began to make a name for himself in the Philadelphia artistic scene; working in the same studio as his younger brother, famous American painter Thomas Moran, Edward received commissions and even completed some lithographic work.

In 1862, he traveled to London and became a pupil in the Royal Academy.<ref name=":1" /> After moving back to Philadelphia, Moran married Annette Parmentier (his second wife), whom he also apprenticed as a landscape artist in her own right.<ref name=":0" /> He then established a studio in New York in 1872, and for some time after 1877 lived in Paris.<ref name="EB1911" />

One of his more well-known exhibits, titled ''Land and Sea, ''showed 75 of his landscape and marine paintings in March 1871;<ref name=":0" /> these paintings were later illustrated in a catalog by the same name.<ref>Moran, E. (1870). [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/8663462 Land and sea]. N.p.</ref> Proceeds from the exhibit, the catalog, and the sale of another painting (''The Relief Ship Entering Havre'') were donated by Moran to aid the sufferers of the Franco-Prussian War.<ref name=":0" />

In 1885, at the height of his career, Moran began what would be considered his most important work - a series of 13 paintings representing the Marine History of the United States. He chose to have thirteen paintings in the series because of the significance of the number in American history (13 colonies, 13 stars and stripes on the original US flag, etc.). The subjects include Leif Erikson, Christopher Columbus, Hernando de Soto, Henry Hudson, and George Dewey, among others.<ref name=":1" /> Not long after their completion, the series was displayed at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.<ref>Carr, C. K., Rydell, R. W., National Museum of American Art (U.S.), & National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Institution). (1993). [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/26855900 Revisiting the white city: American art at the 1893 World's Fair. Washington, D.C: National Museum of American Art and National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution].</ref>

==Later life== Moran lived in New York City until his death on June 8, 1901. He was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Koykka|first=Arthur S.|url=http://archive.org/details/projectremembern0000koyk_g4e2|title=Project remember : a national index of gravesites of notable Americans|date=1986|publisher=Algonac, MI : Reference Publications|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-917256-22-6}}</ref> Although he had given the series of thirteen paintings to his wife several years before, a legal battle ensued after his death over ownership of the paintings: the executor of Moran's estate refused to hand them over, declaring that they were rightfully under his protection. The Supreme Court in New York City eventually judged in favor of Moran's widow.<ref name=":0" />

== Legacy == At the time of his death, Moran was widely considered to be one of the most important 19th century marine painters. Today he is not as well-known, eclipsed by the work of his younger brother, Thomas Moran (1837–1926), whose career he helped launch. In addition, his sons Edward Percy Moran (1862–1935) and John Leon Moran<ref name="Artist">[https://www.bedfordfineartgallery.com/leon_moran_creek.html Artwork by Leon Moran]</ref> (1864–1941), his other brother Peter (1841–1914), and his nephew Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863–1930), also became prominent American artists.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{commons}} *Theodore Sutro, [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24990 ''Thirteen Chapters of American History''], 1905, illustrated by Moran *[https://www.bedfordfineartgallery.com/edward_moran_breakers.html Artwork by Edward Moran]

{{Thomas Moran|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Edward}} Category:1829 births Category:1901 deaths Category:19th-century American male artists Category:National Academy of Design associates Category:Artists from Bolton Category:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Category:Artists from Lancashire Category:Artists from Philadelphia Category:British emigrants to the United States