Moran was brought to America in 1844 by his parents who eventually settled in Maryland. Within a few years he had been apprenticed to an engraver in Philadelphia and had come in contact with a number of local artists in that city, notably James Hamilton, who helped him further his artistic pursuits. Moran began working with watercolor and, by the time he was twenty-three, was using oils. Further encouragement came from his brothers Edward and Peter Moran who were also artists; Edward was espcecially influential on the younger Thomas and the two went to London together in 1862. The most lasting influence on Moran's work from this trip came from teh paintings of Turner which Moran greatly admired. He sharpened his painting skills by copying the works of the old masters in England and on the Continent where he was traveling in 1866-67.
In 1871, after returning to America, Moran accompanied the Ferdinand V. Hayden U.S. Geological Expedition to the Yellowstone River Canyon and surrounding areas. Some of Moran's best known works resulted from sketches and studies he made during this and subsequent western journies. Over the next several decades, he visited and painted the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado River, the Grand Tetons, and scenery in Arizona, Florida, Mexico, and Italy, especially Venice. He and his family lived in Newark, New Jersy, for much of the 1870s, moved to New York City in 1881, and, beginning in 1878, spent many summers at East Hampton, Long Island. Moran's fame was enhanced when, in 1872 and 1874, Congress bought two of his huge western paintings to hand in the Capitol building in Washington. Meanwhile, true to his early traingin, Moran continued producing etchings and engravings and designed hundreds of illustrations for publications such as Scribner's and Century magazines.
Moran's relationship with the National Academy began with the exhibition of a number of his works in the Academy's annual exhibition of 1866; he continued to be a regular participant in the annuals here for the rest of his long life. Before he died, he acheived the distinction of being the oldest living member of the Academy.
In 1863, Moran married his former pupil, Mary Nimmo, who, like him, was a respected and accomplished etcher.
