Artwork Details
40-1/2 x 64 in. (unframed) 49-1/4 x 73-1/4 x 4-1/4 in. (framed)
Mark DescriptionSigned in red paint at lower left: E. Moran 1862 Inscribed at verso, lower left: The Valley in The Sea | E. Moran Inscribed at verso, lower right: Philadelphia | 1862
Accession NumberMartha Delzell Memorial Fund
CopyrightAmerican Painting and Sculpture 1800-1945
Color PaletteDr. J.M. Sommerville, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1862.{1} (Bernard Danenberg Galleries, Inc., New York, New York) 1970;{2} purchased by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1970. {1} 39th Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, 1862, no. 123, as "A Valley in the Sea off the Coast of Great Britain." Dr. J.M. Sommerville is listed as the painting's proprietor. {2} Recent Discoveries in American Painting, Bernard Danenberg Galleries, Inc., New York City, 21 April to 9 May 1970, no. 20.
- Although his brother Thomas Moran is better known, Edward Moran was unequaled as a marine painter during his lifetime. He became known for his dramatic green-blue seas and brilliant skies.
- This is perhaps the only panoramic underwater scene in 19th-century American art. Its majestic vista and meticulous attention to detail capture an aquatic equivalent to the terrestrial scenic wonders that fascinated the painters of the Hudson River School.
- Moran may have been inspired to create this painting by deep-sea explorations conducted in the 1850s in preparation for the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable.
Exhibition Name
Venue
Dates
Ocean Imaginings
Musée d’art Moderne André Malraux, Le Havre
May 5, 2018 - September 9, 2018
More Than Red, White and Blue: American Paintings from the Collection
Indianapolis Museum of Art
July 2, 1989 - August 20, 1989
Edward Moran, American Marine and Landscape Painter, 1829-1901
The Mariners' Museum and Park
June 17, 1979 - August 5, 1979
Edward Moran, American Marine and Landscape Painter, 1829-1901
Delaware Art Museum
April 29, 1979 - June 3, 1979
New Treasures: Five Year Retrospective
Indianapolis Museum of Art
October 18, 1972 - December 10, 1972
Discoveries in 19th Century American Painting
Bernard Danenberg Galleries, Inc.
April 21, 1970 - May 9, 1970
39th Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
1862 - 1862
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