Mary Nimmo Moran

Mary Nimmo Moran (May 16, 1842 – September 25, 1899) was an American landscape printmaker, specializing in etchings. Referred to by Mark Spanner on the Arte website as "perhaps the first woman to prove marriage and family were not insurmountable to success." She was the first of many landscape artists and in 1880 she was known as a landscape etcher. Mary Nimmo Moran's landscape View of Newark from the Meadows is in the collection of The Newark Museum of Art. She was among the earliest American Artists to explore the medium of etching.

Born in Scotland, she immigrated to the United States at the age of five with her widowed father and brother; they settled in Philadelphia. She married American artist and illustrator Thomas Moran, and they had a family together.

Biography Mary Nimmo Moran, Across The Water, ca. 1880–1890. Etching, 5 7/8 x 8 in. (14.9 x 20.2 cm) Mary Nimmo was born in Strathaven, Scotland on May 16, 1842 to Mary and Archibald Nimmo, a family of weavers. The town of Strathaven was one of many where hand-loomed and colorful wools from weavers were the main source of livelihood for the community. Following, the death of her mother in 1847, when Mary was five, her father, Archibald, took her and her brother with him to the United States, settling in Crescentville, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1858. In 1860, with her neighbor Thomas Moran, who was gaining a local reputation as an artist.

In 1862, She made most of her etchings on location near her various homes, as responsibilities to her growing family strongly limited her travel. Her paintings and etching are directly about nature which can be seen in her artwork. Her etchings earned critical praise for their directness and boldness. It is also a contributing property to the East Hampton Village District, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Her paintings were exhibited sporadically at the National Academy of Design. It was presented at the Society of American Artists from 1879 to 1899 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Nimmo Moran was described as simultaneously charming, personable, bright, modest, and humble. Notably, she was well-versed in many different fields of artistry.

In summer 1950, her etchings were presented at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. .

Death Moran died of typhoid fever on September 25, 1899, aged 57, after nursing her daughter Ruth through the disease. She was buried beside Goose Pond, a subject of many of her etchings, near her home in East Hampton.

Auction record On 9 June 2011, Swann Galleries auctioned Mary Nimmo Moran's Long Island Landscape, an 1880 oil on panel, which was her first painting to appear at auction. It sold for $64,800.

Artworks Name Date Medium Size Across the Water ca. 1880–1890 etching 5 7/8 x 8 in. (14.9 x 20.2 cm) The Bay ca. 1880–1890 etching 8 x 11 5/8 in. (20.3 x 29.5 cm) Bridge over the Buskill, Easton, Pa. 1879 etching 7 x 4 in. (17.7 x 10.3 cm) Cattails and Trees ca. 1880–1890 etching 4 x 7 in. (10.3 x 17.8 cm) Cattle in a Pond 1881 etching 5 3/4 x 9 in. (14.8 x 22.7 cm) The Coast of Florida 1887 etching 3 1/4 x 6 in. (8.3 x 15.1 cm) Gardiner's Bay, L.I., Seen from Fresh Pond 1884 etching on parchment 7 3/4 x 11 1/2 in. (19.8 x 29.2 cm) Home of the Muskrat 1884 etching 4 5/8 x 11 3/8 in. (11.7 x 28.9 cm) House by a Stream 1881 etching 12 x 6 in. (30.5 x 15.2 cm) Long Island Landscape 1885 etching 11 1/2 x 17 1/2 in. (29.3 x 44.4 cm) Meadowland 1884 etching 5 x 11 1/2 in. (12.7 x 29.2 cm) My Neighbor's Home--Easthampton 1883 etching 8 x 11 7/8 in. (20.3 x 30.3 cm) The Old Homestead 1880 etching on chine collé 7 3/4 x 12 in. (19.7 x 30.4 cm) Old Lindens--Near Easthampton 1885 etching 8 x 11 7/8 in. (20.2 x 30.2 cm) Salt Water Ponds 1884 etching 9 3/4 x 11 1/4 in. (24.8 x 28.7 cm) The Garden Path, Easthampton 1894 oil on artist's board 14 x10 in. (35.7 x 25.5 cm) The "Home Sweet Home" of John Howard Payne, Easthampton 1885 etching 16 x 13 1/8 in. (40.5 x 33.2 cm) The Sea through the Woods ca. 1880–1890 etching 8 x 5 3/4 in. (20.3 x 14.8 cm) Three Maidens at the River ca.1880–1890 etching 6 13/16 x 5 3/16 in. (17.3 x 14.7 cm.) Twilight ca. 1880–1890 etching, roulette, sandpaper, and scotchstone on paper 3 x 5 1/2 in. (7.8 x 13.8 cm) A Glimpse of Conway ca 1882 etching on a copper plate 9 3/8 x 6 1/2 in. (23.8 cm x 16.5 cm) The Goose Pond of East Hampton is an important work of Mary Nimmo Moran because their home in East Hampton overlooked a Goose Pond. It became her inspiration in the flat grassy terrain and abundant waterways. She used the delicate line of the etching needle to describe the pond that cuts the composition in half. She included a Gardiner's Mill which was a typical landmark of 18th-century Dutch etching. The movement of the clouds is something challenging in general when doing etching but she was able to create a special effect in this etching which was something that was not seen and it was different for that period. Created in 1882

A Glimpse of Conway was created during her visit to Europe in 1882 with her husband Thomas Moran. It was etched on a copper plate on-site and outdoors.