Bolton's Treasures - Moran Exhibition at Bolton Museum, Aquarium and Archive
Purchased with the assistance of The Art Fund, the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Bradshaw Gass Trust
About the funding for the prints
The MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund gives grants to help museums acquire objects. Last year it received 279 applications and 182 grants were awarded. Museums must argue how the object links with their existing collection.
In this instance the grant was awarded because Bolton museum has the largest collection of Morans outside the USA. It is important to continue collecting work by one of Bolton’s most famous artists.
Bradshaw Gass Trust is a private Bolton trust has helped the museum to acquire several new artworks for the collection over the past few years
Originally from Bolton, the Morans, father Thomas Sr., mother Mary Higson Moran and their sons Edward, John, Thomas and Peter, emigrated from Bolton to the USA in 1844.
A talented family
Thomas Moran, the most famous artist in the family is best known for his American landscapes; his wife, Mary Nimmo, for her etchings; and Thomas’ brothers Edward and Peter for their seascapes and genre scenes.
Thomas Moran (1837-1926)
Thomas was the most famous artist in the family. At the age of sixteen he became apprenticed to a wood engraving firm. However, Thomas wanted to follow his brother’s example and become an artist. In 1861 he ended his apprenticeship and travelled to London to study the work of English painter J.M.W. Turner.
In 1871 and 1873 Moran made expeditions to Yellowstone National Park. Using sketches from these trips he created some of his best known work.
Mary Nimmo Moran (1842-1899)
Mary Nimmo Moran, Thomas’ Scottish wife, was one of the most important nineteenth century landscape etchers in the USA. Many of her etchings were made outside directly onto copper plate. Her family had moved to the USA in 1852 and were neighbours of the Morans. Mary did not accompany her husband on his western trips and took up etching to amuse herself when he was away.
Mary Higson Moran (1807-1883)
Mary Higson Moran and Thomas Sr. Moran had ten children, but not all of them survived. Seven of them were born in Bolton and the remaining three in the USA. In total the Moran family generated 14 artists! Not all of them are featured in this exhibition. Work by the following members of the family are featured in this intimate exhibition.
Edward Moran (1829 -1901)
Edward was the oldest son and is thought to have encouraged the family’s interest in art. By the 1880s he was considered an expert in marine painting.
Peter Moran (1841-1914)
Peter was the youngest of the Moran brothers. He became the pupil of his brother but, unlike Thomas, his interest was in animal subjects rather than landscapes.
Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863-1930)
Jean Leon was the son of Thomas Moran’s younger sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth married Stephen James Ferris who was a successful portrait artist. Their two children, Jean Leon Gerome Ferris and daughter, May Electa Ferris, both became artists.
Funding for the new collection
All the prints in this exhibition are new additions to the museum collections and this exhibition also celebrates 125 years of collecting at this museum. The museum is always looking to improve its collections by acquiring new objects. It does this in two ways, through gifts, donations and bequests, and by buying items.
These prints were bought with the assistance of The Art Fund, the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Bradshaw Gass Trust.
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