For today's viewers of Thomas Moran’s watercolor, the sight of factory smoke pouring into pristine mountain air might prophesy environmental ruin. Yet within the context of America’s western expansion, the imagery of factories was more ambiguous. Some in Moran's time regarded the factories as a force of destruction, while others interpreted them as symbols of progress. Moran himself viewed Denver’s budding industry with enthusiasm, writing positively to his wife about the city’s growth since he first visited while part of a government survey in 1873. Two decades later, when Moran returned to Denver to paint advertisements for the Santa Fe Railroad, smelting—the extraction of metal from heated rock—had transformed the city into an industrial hub. Although the brooding tone of this watercolor is unlike the artist’s bright, misty-eyed paintings of Edenic splendor, his depiction of the west’s emerging industrial landscape reinforces the same myth of manifest destiny—the belief that settler conquest of Native American lands was inevitable and justified—by illustrating the land’s richness in natural resources. Like the English Romantic painter J. M. W. Turner, whose style he emulated, Moran was primarily interested in the pictorial possibilities of industry. In this impressionistic study, Moran manipulates gray wash and white gouache to capture the vaporous quality of smoke and clouds as the two substances, industrial and natural, dissipate into the yellow atmosphere.
- Title: Smelting Works at Denver
- Creator: Thomas Moran (American, 1837–1926)
- Date Created: 1892
- Physical Dimensions: Sheet: 24 x 31.8 cm (9 7/16 x 12 1/2 in.)
- Provenance: (The Milch Galleries, New York, NY, cat no. 53.), (Biltmore Salon, Los Angeles, CA, January 1927, cat. no. 6, sold.), Henry A. [1856-1917] and Josephine P. [1866-1938] Everett, Cleveland, OH., Bequest of Josephine P. Everett to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, for the Dorothy Burnham Everett Memorial Collection.
- Type: Drawing
- Rights: CC0
- Medium: watercolor and gouache
- Inscriptions: signed, lower left, in graphite: [artist's monogram: TM] Moran; signed, lower right, in graphite: smelting works at Denver / T. Moran: June 12th 1892
- Fun Fact: Moran sketched this image while waiting for his travel arrangements to be resolved, having learned that he received a commission for a large painting of Wyoming for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.
- Department: Drawings
- Culture: America, 19th century
- Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Henry A. Everett for the Dorothy Burnham Everett Memorial Collection
- Collection: DR - American 19th Century
- Accession Number: 1938.56
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Giclée Quality Guarantee:
Giclée printing is meant to produce a product at a higher quality and longer lifespan than a standard desktop inkjet printer. The word was used to describe digital reproductions of conventional artworks (painting or drawing) or photographs.
There are at least three basic criteria which must be met in order for the print to be considered a true giclée...
- For giclée printing, the paper or substrate used to actually print the final piece must be acid free and consist of a 100% cotton base.
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- The last step to creating or confirming a true giclée print is the type of ink and printer used. The biggest contrast between a standard inkjet print and a giclée print is that giclées are printed using pigment-based inks rather than the dye-based inks found in lower cost inkjets. Pigment-based inks have a longer life span that can last anywhere from 100 to 200 years without significant fading.
The Quality :
The quality of the giclée print rivals traditional silver halide and gelatin printing processes and is commonly found in museums, art galleries, and photographic galleries.
With Giclée printing technology, we are able to provide the best possible quality for the reproduction of fine art masterpieces as well as your personal photos. Our prints capture the subtlest of colors and contrasts, while retaining superb image sharpness.
- We use real wood (non-MDF) for our canvas stretcher bars
- The canvas depth of of each dimension will be 1.5" thick
All of our canvas prints are gallery wrapped. Your image will be visible in full on the front side of the canvas while the outer edges are either artistically extended or mirrored to wrap over the wood stretcher bars on all sides. Our canvases are hand-stretched over solid wood stretcher bars.
Our canvas art works arrive ready to hang right out the box! We will affix a sturdy sawtooth hanger to the back of your canvas and include in your package: two screws, two nails, a pair of gloves, and a gradienter (small water level to ensure art is hung straight).
Framed:
Our framed arts are specially designed for both classic art and personalized artwork. Choose from a variety of frames for the perfect one to suit the style of your home.
- Mounted on back flannel so as not to scuff your walls
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Our frames are specifically chosen to complement each artwork. However, we will gladly accommodate if you'd prefer a different frame. Contact us at customerservice@decorarts.com for inquiries.
