The Mirage
Artist
Thomas Moran
(American, 1837 - 1926)
Date1879
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions25 1/8 × 62 3/8 inches (63.8 × 158.4 cm)
Frame: 37 1/2 × 74 1/2 × 4 inches (95.3 × 189.2 × 10.2 cm)
Frame: 37 1/2 × 74 1/2 × 4 inches (95.3 × 189.2 × 10.2 cm)
Credit LinePurchase of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 1977
Object number31.18.15
ClassificationsPaintings
DescriptionOil painting depicting an image of figures crossing a river.Label TextMoran explored the American West and painted scenes that most of his viewers would not experience in person. It was important to portray specific landscapes with accuracy. Yet, as an artist, he wanted to make his work as visually appealing as possible. In The Mirage, Moran painted the cliffs of Green River, a specific site in present day Wyoming. He intensified the color with the predominance of complementary oranges and blues. The rusty orange of the sandstone and shale formation glows against the dark blue of the sky. The effect repeats more subtly with the reflections in the river.
ProvenanceReginald Vanderbilt, New York, New York; by inheritance to Consuelo Vanderbilt, New York, New York; Vanderbilt Family Collection, New York, New York; (Newhouse Galleries, New York, New York); purchased 1952 by Mr. and Mrs. Kay Kimbell, Fort Worth, Texas; 1964 Kimbell Art Foundation, Fort Worth, Texas; purchased October 10, 1977 through (Gerald Peters, Santa Fe, New Mexico) by the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned to the Stark Museum of Art
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