Goose Pond by Mary Moran

In the 1885 edition of American Etchings, the editor described Mary’s work as follows:

She has made a large number of plates noted for boldness and picturesque-ness. These plates are all made direct from nature; a practice which requires, not only a thorough knowledge of nature and art, but also long experience with the process of etching. Mrs Moran's success, which was from the beginning, is therefore truly wonderful.

Among her plates... A Goose Pond, Long Island is to be mentioned for the movement in he clouds, a difficult effect to get in etching – in fact, nine-tenths of the etched plates existing have very simple skies, in which a few scratches are made to indicate clouds, and a tint left on the plate which often tends to make the sky look heavy.

Goose Pond still exists, however it is now known, less picturesquely as "Town Pond". It is situated just across Main Street, in front of the Moran family home.

When Mary depicted this particular scene the Morans were spending the summers visiting the area. They moved to Easthampton permanently in 1884, two years after a fund-raising exhibition in Thomas’s home town of Bolton. This exhibition enabled them to buy a plot of land and build their dream home.
 
Just beyond the pond is the cemetery where the family are buried - Thomas, Mary, and their children, Paul, Ruth and Mary. The windmill featured in the etching is Gardiner’s Windmill. It is about 80 metres from the pond.