Edward Moran Art | Questroyal

Edward Moran was one of the nineteenth century’s most revered marine painters and the eldest member of the Moran family of artists. Born in Bolton-le-Moor, Lancashire, England, Edward Moran moved to America with his family in 1844 and settled in Maryland. He moved to Philadelphia thirteen years later to study under the marine painter James Hamilton and the German landscapist Paul Weber but was most influenced by J.M.W. Turner, whose dramatic seascapes he discovered in London. In turn, Moran exerted a strong influence upon his younger brothers: Thomas (the famous painter of Western scenes), John (a photographer), and Peter (an animal and landscape painter), and sons: Percy (a genre painter) and Leon (a figure painter), all of whom followed him into the artistic field.

Known for his dramatic depictions of the sea, Moran painted stormy skies, turbulent waves, and lost shipwrecks. Moran established his career in Philadelphia and moved to New York City in 1872, exhibited at all the major venues, including the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the National Academy of Design, the Brooklyn Art Association, and the Boston Art Club. His paintings are now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, among other major collections.