Thomas Moran 
American, 1837-1926

Falls at Toltec Gorge, 1913
Oil on canvas

Gift of the Norma Burford Estate, 1978

 

Visual Description

This is a painting of a forested, rocky landscape with a churning waterfall. The white, frothy water emerges from a narrow opening in the rock face and cascades downward, disappearing into a narrow, rocky chasm. To the right of the waterfall is a ridge, covered in vegetation and shaded by pine trees

 

Extended Label Text

Likely created from a drawing Thomas Moran made during his 1881 tour of Colorado, Falls at Toltec Gorge depicts a churning waterfall deep in a forested wilderness. The white cascading water, in its constant state of movement, disappears into the narrow rocky chasm, as a purplish-gray cloud of mist rises in turn. Waterfalls were a feature of many of the artist’s monumental Western landscapes. In Falls at Toltec Gorge, Moran adopts a closer perspective on the dynamic natural feature, producing a work with such sensory impact that viewers can see and even imagine that they hear the water as it spills downward.