The Morning After (Montauk, Long Island), Thomas Moran

Exhibition Label:
"Empire of Things," 2013, Kate Meyer
Although best-known for his images of the Yellowstone region, Thomas and his wife, fellow artist, Mary Nimmo Moran, settled in East Hampton on Long Island in the 1880s. The rural charm and picturesque surroundings reminded Moran of his youth in England while the views off Montauk’s coast evoked the turbulent maritime history of the region. Numerous ships, from 17th-century British warships to 19th-century steamers, have run aground off the coast of Long Island and their wreckage is often revealed after significant storms. Moran contrasts a distant vessel that sags precipitously along the shoreline with the wooden hull and ribs of a ship lain victim to the stormy sea. This exploration of the tumultulous relationship between man and nature as well as Moran’s romantic depiction of coast and clouds suggests affinities with the seascapes of the English painter Joseph M.W. Turner, whom Moran admired.