Mary Nimmo Moran
Encyclopedia
Mary Nimmo Moran also found as M. Nimmo Moran, was a prominent American 19th century landscape artist specializing in etchings. She completed roughly 70 landscape etchings, which included scenes of England
and Scotland
, and in the United States, Long Island
, New Jersey
, Florida
and Pennsylvania
. She was elected to the Society of Painter- Etchers and became the only female member of the Fellows of London’s Royal Society of Painter-Etchers. Mary Nimmo Moran was the wife of American artist and illustrator Thomas Moran
.
Born in Strathaven
, Scotland, Mary Nimmo and her brother emigrated to the United States in 1847 with their widowed father, a weaver named Archibald Nimmo. The family settled in Crescentville, Pennsylvania
, near a family of English immigrants named Moran. At age 18, she began to study drawing and painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, studying with her neighbor Thomas Moran, who was then gaining a local reputation as an artist. Two years later, the couple married and moved to Philadelphia where they had two daughters and a son. In 1879, her husband introduced Nimmo Moran to the technique of etching, directly engraving onto a copper plate. She made most of her etchings on location near her various homes, as responsibilities to her growing family allowed her to travel only occasionally.
To avoid unsettling potential purchasers by openly declaring her gender, Nimmo Moran chose to exhibit her prints as 'M. Nimmo Moran'. She was elected to the Society of Painter-Etchers of New York and became the only woman among the 65 original Fellows of London's Royal Society of Painter-Etchers. Her prints were recognized for their boldness and originality, and were collected by the English critic John Ruskin
and others.
The Moran family relocated to Newark, New Jersey
in 1872 and, in 1884, moved to East Hampton
on Long Island, a location that became the subject of many of Nimmo Moran’s most successful etchings. The Moran home
in East Hampton became the center of a productive artists’ colony and is today a National Historic Landmark
.
Nimmo Moran died of typhoid fever
in 1899, after nursing her daughter Ruth through the disease, and was buried near her home.
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.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and in the United States, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. She was elected to the Society of Painter- Etchers and became the only female member of the Fellows of London’s Royal Society of Painter-Etchers. Mary Nimmo Moran was the wife of American artist and illustrator Thomas Moran
Thomas Moran
Thomas Moran from Bolton, England was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family took residence in New York where he obtained work as an artist...
.
Born in Strathaven
Strathaven
Strathaven is a historic market town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The town was granted a Royal Charter in 1450, making the Town of Strathaven a burgh of barony. The town's principal industry was primarily weaving in the 19th and early 20th centuries, however this declined when faced by...
, Scotland, Mary Nimmo and her brother emigrated to the United States in 1847 with their widowed father, a weaver named Archibald Nimmo. The family settled in Crescentville, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, near a family of English immigrants named Moran. At age 18, she began to study drawing and painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, studying with her neighbor Thomas Moran, who was then gaining a local reputation as an artist. Two years later, the couple married and moved to Philadelphia where they had two daughters and a son. In 1879, her husband introduced Nimmo Moran to the technique of etching, directly engraving onto a copper plate. She made most of her etchings on location near her various homes, as responsibilities to her growing family allowed her to travel only occasionally.
To avoid unsettling potential purchasers by openly declaring her gender, Nimmo Moran chose to exhibit her prints as 'M. Nimmo Moran'. She was elected to the Society of Painter-Etchers of New York and became the only woman among the 65 original Fellows of London's Royal Society of Painter-Etchers. Her prints were recognized for their boldness and originality, and were collected by the English critic John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
and others.
The Moran family relocated to Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
in 1872 and, in 1884, moved to East Hampton
East Hampton (town), New York
The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...
on Long Island, a location that became the subject of many of Nimmo Moran’s most successful etchings. The Moran home
Thomas Moran House
Thomas Moran House was the East Hampton, New York home of Thomas Moran, 1837–1926, an American painter of the Hudson River School, known for his landscape paintings in the American West...
in East Hampton became the center of a productive artists’ colony and is today a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
Nimmo Moran died of typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
in 1899, after nursing her daughter Ruth through the disease, and was buried near her home.
Auction Record
On June 9, 2011, Swann GalleriesSwann Galleries
Swann Galleries is a New York auction house founded in 1941. It is a specialist auctioneer of antique and rare works on paper, and it is considered the oldest continually operating New York specialist auction house....
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.