Yellowstone Park

Thomas Moran's sketch captures the dramatic geological features of Yellowstone National Park—towering thermal formations, distant geysers, and the layered terrain of this geological wonder. Moran, the English-born landscape painter, traveled extensively through the American West beginning in the 1870s, documenting its spectacular natural features. His drawings and paintings of Yellowstone helped shape public perception of the park following its establishment as America's first national park in 1872. This rapid pencil study exemplifies Moran's method of capturing essential compositional elements in the field, which he would later develop into finished paintings.