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MIST IN THE CANYON signed " T. Moran " with initials in monogram and with artist's thumbprint and dated " 1914, " l.l. - - oil on canvas 27 x 22 in. (38.5 x 56 cm.) One of the more dramatic examples in the history of the quest for an essentially American art is that of Thomas Moran. Born in Boulton, England in 1837, he came to the United States at a young age, clearly explaining his aims: "I decided very early that I would be an American painter. I'll paint as an American, on an American basis, and American only." This statement offers some indication of the desire and ambition that must have compelled this Philadelphia artist to brave a tour of the untamed American West in 1871. It was this experience that brought Moran's work to fruition, generating some of the most compelling images ever created of the Rockies and Grand Canyon. Moran depicted the West as a vast, romantic, ideal land of haunting beauty. Utilizing the colorism of Turner and the light and atmospheric effects of Claude, he portrayed the grandiose, panoramic aspect of nature. Moran had the exceptional ability to engrave whole features and scenes, such as plunging falls or drifting mists, indelibly into his imagination. This ability, as well as his growing interest in the effect of atmosphere and of light upon color, is evident in his paintings, especially in works such as " Mist in the Canyon, " which clearly impress their images of uniquely American lands into the imagination of the viewer. Perhaps the artist summed up his philosophy most aptly when he remarked: "Of course, all art must come through nature or naturalism, but I believe that a place, as a place, has no value in itself for the artist only so far as it furnishes the material from which to construct a picture." " Mist in the Canyon " will be included in Stephen L. Good and Phyllis Braff's forthcoming catalogue raisonne of Moran's work.