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April 11, 2025 – March 21, 2026
Situated in conversation with Patrick Kikut’s installation of Colorado River paintings, Thomas Moran’s prints, drawings, and watercolors provide art historical context for contemporary expedition art. Thomas Moran first sketched the American West at Green River, Wyoming—a dramatic and recurring subject that would become central to his artistic identity. The region’s striking colors and geological formations captivated Moran, and his frequent visits yielded a body of work that shaped the visual language of the West for generations. This selection of drawings, watercolors, and chromolithographs traces Moran’s journeys across Wyoming and the broader Western landscape. His artistic contributions coincided with a surge in government-sponsored expeditions aimed at surveying and documenting the territories west of the Mississippi River. These expeditions often included artists and photographers to provide visual records that supported scientific and political agendas. Within the context of Sympoiesis: Co-Creating Sense of Place, Moran’s works serve as a reminder of how artistic vision and technological reproduction can come together to shape collective perceptions of landscape. His images are not only personal interpretations but also part of a larger network of scientific, political, and cultural forces that contribute to the mythos of the American West. His legacy endures in the work of contemporary artists who continue to explore, document, and question the American landscape—sometimes in reverence, sometimes in resistance—demonstrating how place-making remains a shared and evolving artistic endeavor.
Images: Installation views of Thomas Moran’s installation at the University of Wyoming Art Museum. Artworks in the collection of the University of Wyoming Art Museum.
Funded through the generosity of the Susan Moldenhauer FUNd for Contemporary Art, the Patricia R. Guthrie Special Exhibitions Gallery Endowment, WE Soda, and By Western Hands.
