Moran, Thomas "Grand Canyon of Arizona From Hermit Rim Road"

Thomas Moran. "Grand Canyon of Arizona From Hermit Rim Road". 

Chicago: Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railway System, 1913. 26 1/2 x 35 ¼ (image).  Chromolithograph by American Lithographic Co. Mounted to board as issued. In period gold frame. With some fading and discoloration from varnish. Overall, very good condition and good appearance. Ref: Joni Louise Kinsey. Thomas Moran and the Surveying of the American West, 1992.  

A spectacular American chromolithograph of Thomas Moran's famous image of the Grand Canyon from the Hermit Rim. Moran accompanied the 1871 Ferdinand V. Hayden expedition to the Yellowstone, and upon his return he produced a superb group of watercolors which Boston publisher Louis Prang turned into 15 chromolithographs which he issued in a portfolio limited to 1,000 copies. The success of these marvelous prints inspired Moran to head west again two years later. In 1873 he joined John Wesley Powell, who had navigated the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1869, on another expedition to the Grand Canyon. This trip resulted in a painting taken from the Kaibab Plateau on the north rim, which in turn was turned into this stunning chromolithograph.

The promotion of the Grand Canyon was pursued by corporations that stood to profit from their association. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway looked to art as one of many ways to increase the number of passengers on its railways.