Beryl Geyser on Gibbon River, Yellowstone Park

Thomas Moran's sketch captures a geothermal feature in Yellowstone with the artist's characteristic attention to landscape drama. The drawing demonstrates Moran's field practice—quick notation of geological formations and vegetation along the Gibbon River. Moran (1837–1926) became instrumental in visualizing the American West through watercolors and oils that shaped public perception of Yellowstone following its establishment as the first national park in 1872. His sketches, made during expeditions, served as studies for larger exhibition paintings that brought remote landscapes into Eastern galleries and parlors.