Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
J. S. Earle & Son
J. S. Martin
Mrs. Gamble Latrobe, Wilmington, Delaware
Mrs. Richard Reese, Wilmington, Delaware
Sotheby's New York, New York, April 25, 1980, lot 33
Graham Gallery, New York, New York
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, New York
Alexander Gallery, New York, New York
Sotheby's New York, New York, May 25, 1994, lot 29
Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York, New York (agent), Daniel J. Terra Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1994
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1999
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
Thomas Moran
(American, 1837–1926)
Autumn Afternoon, the Wissahickon
1864
Oil on canvas
Image: 30 1/4 x 45 1/4 in. (76.8 x 114.9 cm)
Frame: 38 1/2 x 53 7/16 x 3 5/8 in. (97.8 x 135.7 x 9.2 cm)
Frame: 38 1/2 x 53 7/16 x 3 5/8 in. (97.8 x 135.7 x 9.2 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection
Object number1999.99
SignedLower left: Thos. Moran 1864 Op. 9
InterpretationIn Autumn on the Wissahickon Thomas Moran ostensibly pictured a scene upstream on the creek that flows into Philadelphia. The setting cannot be far from the central city, but as in several other paintings featuring the Wissahickon, the artist created a bucolic view that denies both encroaching urbanism and the not-so-distant conflict of civil war. In a series of receding planes that leads the eye into a distance glowing with hazy light, the composition integrates such domestic elements as the watering cattle and distant bridge with romantic references to the American wilderness, notably the brilliant colors of the autumnal foliage and the covered wagon moving off into the
distance.
Painted early in his career, Moran’s Autumn on the Wissahickon reflects his effort to assimilate into a familiar “home scene” the lessons learned from his study of European landscape painting. Two years earlier, the artist and his brother Edward traveled to England to study first-hand the paintings of the great English romantic painter J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851). Previously familiar with Turner’s work only in the form of monochromatic line engravings, Moran was deeply impressed by the emotive, saturated color and expressive light of his oil and watercolor paintings. As he followed the route of Turner’s tour of the English coast, he was also struck by the “liberties” the master had taken with the landscape. Moran committed his art to the selective rendering and dramatic evocation of place, the creation of an exalted version of reality that, he insisted, must spring from the artist’s intimate familiarity with his natural subject.
In Autumn on the Wissahickon, Moran achieved an appealing landscape formula that was both naturalistic and romantic. By the time the work was exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, in the spring of 1865, it had already changed hands twice. In an early list of his paintings, Moran described this work as “Decidedly my best picture up to this time.”
Painted early in his career, Moran’s Autumn on the Wissahickon reflects his effort to assimilate into a familiar “home scene” the lessons learned from his study of European landscape painting. Two years earlier, the artist and his brother Edward traveled to England to study first-hand the paintings of the great English romantic painter J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851). Previously familiar with Turner’s work only in the form of monochromatic line engravings, Moran was deeply impressed by the emotive, saturated color and expressive light of his oil and watercolor paintings. As he followed the route of Turner’s tour of the English coast, he was also struck by the “liberties” the master had taken with the landscape. Moran committed his art to the selective rendering and dramatic evocation of place, the creation of an exalted version of reality that, he insisted, must spring from the artist’s intimate familiarity with his natural subject.
In Autumn on the Wissahickon, Moran achieved an appealing landscape formula that was both naturalistic and romantic. By the time the work was exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, in the spring of 1865, it had already changed hands twice. In an early list of his paintings, Moran described this work as “Decidedly my best picture up to this time.”
J. S. Earle & Son
J. S. Martin
Mrs. Gamble Latrobe, Wilmington, Delaware
Mrs. Richard Reese, Wilmington, Delaware
Sotheby's New York, New York, April 25, 1980, lot 33
Graham Gallery, New York, New York
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, New York
Alexander Gallery, New York, New York
Sotheby's New York, New York, May 25, 1994, lot 29
Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York, New York (agent), Daniel J. Terra Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1994
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1999
Exhibition History
Forty-Second Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Spring 1865, no. 636.
Attitudes Toward Nature, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 30, 1995–April 21, 1996.
Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 1996.
Collection Cameo companion piece, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 1999.
Ville et campagne: les artistes américains, 1870–1920 (The City and the Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–July 15, 1999. [exh. cat.]
Rivières et rivages: les artistes américains, 1850–1900 (Waves and Waterways: American Perspectives, 1850–1900), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2000. [exh. cat.]
Permanent collection installation, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, December 9–February 11, 2001.
Selections from the Permanent Collection: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 10–July 1, 2001.
America the Beautiful: Landscapes from Home, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 16, 2001–January 13, 2002.
D'une colonie à une collection: le Musée d'Art Américain Giverny fête ses dix ans (From a Colony to a Collection: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 30–June 16, 2002.
A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003.
Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts (Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 2–June 1, 2003. [exh. cat.]
Copley to Cassatt: Masterworks from the Terra Collection, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut and Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, September 5–December 7, 2003.
Expanded Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, April 15, 2005–September 2013.
Home Front: Daily Life in the Civil War North, Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois and The Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois (organizers). Venue: The Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois, September 26, 2013–March 24, 2014. [exh. cat.]
Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, April 2014–September 2022. Terra Collection-in-Residence, Ashmolean Museum of Art & Archaeology, Oxford, United Kingdom, September 15, 2022–September 30, 2026.
Attitudes Toward Nature, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 30, 1995–April 21, 1996.
Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 1996.
Collection Cameo companion piece, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 1999.
Ville et campagne: les artistes américains, 1870–1920 (The City and the Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–July 15, 1999. [exh. cat.]
Rivières et rivages: les artistes américains, 1850–1900 (Waves and Waterways: American Perspectives, 1850–1900), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2000. [exh. cat.]
Permanent collection installation, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, December 9–February 11, 2001.
Selections from the Permanent Collection: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 10–July 1, 2001.
America the Beautiful: Landscapes from Home, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 16, 2001–January 13, 2002.
D'une colonie à une collection: le Musée d'Art Américain Giverny fête ses dix ans (From a Colony to a Collection: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 30–June 16, 2002.
A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003.
Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts (Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 2–June 1, 2003. [exh. cat.]
Copley to Cassatt: Masterworks from the Terra Collection, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut and Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, September 5–December 7, 2003.
Expanded Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, April 15, 2005–September 2013.
Home Front: Daily Life in the Civil War North, Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois and The Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois (organizers). Venue: The Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois, September 26, 2013–March 24, 2014. [exh. cat.]
Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, April 2014–September 2022. Terra Collection-in-Residence, Ashmolean Museum of Art & Archaeology, Oxford, United Kingdom, September 15, 2022–September 30, 2026.
Sotheby's New York, New York (Sale 6568, May 25, 1994): lot 29. Ill. lot 29 (color).
Autumn on the Wissahickon, Thomas Moran. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 1996. Ill. (black & white).
Anderson, Nancy K. Thomas Moran. (exh. cat., National Gallery of Art). Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1997. Ill. p. 352 (black & white).
Cartwright, Derrick R. The City and the Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1999. Text pp. 17, 25 (checklist); fig. 15, p. 17 (black & white).
Cartwright, Derrick R. Ville et campagne: les artistes américains, 1870–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1999. Text pp. 17, 25 (checklist); fig. 15, p. 17 (black & white).
Cartwright, Derrick R. Waves and Waterways: American Perspectives, 1850–1900. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Text p. 27 (checklist); ill. p. 31 (color).
Cartwright, Derrick R. Rivières et rivages: les artistes américains, 1850–1900. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Text p. 27 (checklist); ill. p. 31 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 60, 202; ill. pp. 5 (color), 61 (color), 202 (black & white).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 60, 202; ill. pp. 5 (color), 61 (color), 202 (black & white).
Brownlee, Peter John, Sarah Burns, Diane Dillon, Daniel Greene, and Scott Manning Stevens. Home Front: Daily Life in the Civil War North with a foreword by Adam Goodheart.(exh. cat., Terra Foundation for American Art and Newberry Library). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013. Text pp. 148, 150, 151, 163 (checklist); Fig. 88, p. 149 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M., and Peter John Brownlee, eds. Conversations with the Collection: A Terra Foundation Collection Handbook. Chicago: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2018. Text pp. 45-46, 63; fig. 2, p. 46; ill. p. 63 (color).
Autumn on the Wissahickon, Thomas Moran. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 1996. Ill. (black & white).
Anderson, Nancy K. Thomas Moran. (exh. cat., National Gallery of Art). Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1997. Ill. p. 352 (black & white).
Cartwright, Derrick R. The City and the Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1999. Text pp. 17, 25 (checklist); fig. 15, p. 17 (black & white).
Cartwright, Derrick R. Ville et campagne: les artistes américains, 1870–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1999. Text pp. 17, 25 (checklist); fig. 15, p. 17 (black & white).
Cartwright, Derrick R. Waves and Waterways: American Perspectives, 1850–1900. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Text p. 27 (checklist); ill. p. 31 (color).
Cartwright, Derrick R. Rivières et rivages: les artistes américains, 1850–1900. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Text p. 27 (checklist); ill. p. 31 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 60, 202; ill. pp. 5 (color), 61 (color), 202 (black & white).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 60, 202; ill. pp. 5 (color), 61 (color), 202 (black & white).
Brownlee, Peter John, Sarah Burns, Diane Dillon, Daniel Greene, and Scott Manning Stevens. Home Front: Daily Life in the Civil War North with a foreword by Adam Goodheart.(exh. cat., Terra Foundation for American Art and Newberry Library). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013. Text pp. 148, 150, 151, 163 (checklist); Fig. 88, p. 149 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M., and Peter John Brownlee, eds. Conversations with the Collection: A Terra Foundation Collection Handbook. Chicago: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2018. Text pp. 45-46, 63; fig. 2, p. 46; ill. p. 63 (color).