Sunset, New York Bay
Artist
Edward Moran
(American, 1829-1901)
CultureAmerican
Date1872
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions18 1/8 x 36 in. (46 x 91.4 cm)
Overall, Frame: 24 3/16 × 42 1/8 × 1 3/4 in. (61.4 × 107 × 4.4 cm)
Overall, Frame: 24 3/16 × 42 1/8 × 1 3/4 in. (61.4 × 107 × 4.4 cm)
InscribedSigned and dated lower left: Edward Moran 1872
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.791
Not on view
DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting of several sail boats on the water in the morning light. Three boats gather in on the right side, off center. The sun comes up behind a lighthouse, which casts a yellow glow over the entire scene. The lighthouse depicted is probably Robbins Reef, situated in Upper New York Bay between Staten Island and Brooklyn.Label TextEdward Moran American (1829-1901) Sunset, New York Bay, 1872 Oil on canvas Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.791 The older brother of Western landscapist Thomas Moran, Edward Moran spent most of his career in New York City. Beginning in the early 1870s, he produced a series of New York harbor scenes-among them Sunset, New York Bay-that document the expansion of that bustling port in the decades following the Civil War. In these paintings Moran was influenced particularly by the landscapes of Sanford Gifford and his fellow Luminists. The heavy, light-filled atmosphere and gentle, poetic tone of the Chrysler's twilight scene owe much to the Luminists' art. Silhouetted against the setting sun, the lighthouse at the center of the painting is Robbins Reef, situated in Upper New York Bay between Staten Island and Brooklyn. To the left of Robbins Reef, just visible in the distance, is Manhattan itself. ProvenanceSanta Barbara Museum, Calif., 1969; Museum Art Exchange, New York, 1969; Chrysler Art Museum of Provincetown, Mass., 1969; Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. to The Chrysler Museum, 1971. Exhibition History"Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum," Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Va., March 1 - July 4, 1976. "Edward Moran (1829-1901): American Marine and Landscape Painter," Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Del., April 27 - June 3, 1979; The Mariners Museum, Newport News, Va., June 17 - August 5, 1979. (Exh. cat. no. 40) "Behind the Seen: The Chrysler's Hidden Museum," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 21, 2005 - February 19, 2006. "American Treasures at the Willoughby-Baylor House," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, January 2 - December 1, 2013. "Robbins Reef Lighthouse: A Home in the Harbor," Noble Maritime Collection, September 25, 2015 - September 27, 2018.Published References_Antiques Magazine_ (April 1968): 417. Dennis R. Anderson, _Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum_, exh. cat., Norfolk, Va., 1975, 131. Paul D. Schweizer, _Edward Moran (1829-1901): American Marine and Landscape Painter_, exh. cat., Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Del., 1979, 71, no. 40. _The Chrysler Museum: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Norfolk, Virginia_ (Norfolk: Chrysler Museum, 1982), 90. ISBN: 0-940744-37-6 Martha N. Hagood and Jefferson C. Harrison, _American Art at the Chrysler Museum: Selected Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings_ (Norfolk, Va.: Chrysler Museum of Art, 2005), 87, no. 51. ISBN: 0-940744-71-6 Erin M. Urban, _Perspective: Robbins Reef_, (New York: The Noble Maritime Collection, 2017), p. 61. ISBN: 978-0-9623017-5-9.
