Ripening of the Leaf

Painting

-

Drexel Founding Collection

#31, Photographed by Mary Elizabeth Kulesa, 2021: Recto with frame
#31, Photographed by Mary Elizabeth Kulesa, 2021

Recto with frame

Name/Title

Ripening of the Leaf

Entry/Object ID

31

Category

Painting

Acquisition

Source (if not Accessioned)

Anthony J. Drexel, Philadelphia

Notes

Date: 1893 Credit Line: Bequest of Anthony J. Drexel Means of Accession: Bequest Source: A J Drexel purchased the painting from the James S. Earle & Son Gallery in 1864

Made/Created

Artist

Thomas Moran

Date made

1863

Place

Country

United States

Continent

North America

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Notes

Signature: LR, Signed and dated 1863

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Framed

Height

45 in

Width

39 in

Dimension Description

Unframed

Height

35-1/2 in

Width

29-1/2 in

Exhibitions

Drexel ReFramed: The Dragon Experience
A Legacy of Art, Science & Industry: Highlights from the Collections, Drexel University
Gateway to the University: The Collections at Drexel
Curator Pick of the Month
250th Exhibition

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Exhibition Label

Label

The Wissahickon, a tributary of the Schuylkill River and part of the Fairmount Park system in Philadelphia, PA, was a popular subject for American landscape painters in the 19th century. Thomas Moran (1837-1926), a painter and printmaker, in the Hudson River Valley School painted this view of the Wissahickon in 1863. The Hudson River Valley School was a mid-19th century, American school focused on landscape paintings with influence from romanticism. Although best known for his paintings of western landscapes, Moran’s paintings of the Philadelphia area capture the beauty of the landscape and the changing seasons.

Label Type

Exhibition Label

Label

Thomas Moran is best known for his monumental paintings of the American West, but he got his start in Philadelphia, painting the scenic landscapes along the Schuylkill and its tributary the Wissahickon. Moran’s view suggests an isolated pastoral valley. In fact, the Wissahickon bordered heavily industrialized districts and was itself lined with mills and factories until the sections of the creek were incorporated into Fairmount Park by the 1880s.

General Notes

Note

1st Floor Reception Area of President's Office - Main Building Label 1/20/15 (S.Bernabei) The Wissahickon is a tributary of the Schuylkill River and a part of the Fairmount Park system in Philadelphia, PA. The river was a favorite subject of American landscape painters such as James Peale (1749-1831) and William Trost Richards (1833-1905). Thomas Moran (1837-1926) was a painter and printmaker in the Hudson River Valley School. The Hudson River Valley School was a mid-century, American school focused on landscape paintings with influence from romanticism. Although he painted several views of the east coast, Moran is best known for his paintings of the western landscape between 1871–1892, the final decades of Western exploration in the United States. His proliferous of western landscape paintings led to him being referred to as T. Yellowstone Moran by contemporaries.