The East Hampton artist Mary Nimmo Moran (1842-1899) was renowned for her etchings, sketches, and paintings. She was born in Strathaven, Scotland, and immigrated with her family to Philadelphia at the age of 5 after her mother died in a cholera epidemic. She met Thomas Moran (1837-1926) in 1858, when his family moved next door, and they married in 1863.
During their marriage, Thomas was more renowned as an artist, particularly after he accompanied the United States Geological Survey’s 1871 Second Powell Expedition to western lands, including the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. His paintings of these places helped establish the national parks system.
Thomas encouraged Mary’s art — she initially began sketching and painting to connect with him. He introduced her to etching in 1879, and this is where she excelled, going on to exhibit her works alongside her husband’s throughout the 1880s and 1890s. Many critics even preferred her work to his. She became the first female elected as a member of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers in England and also belonged to the New York Etching Club.
Mary owned an early portable etching press, which allowed her to work outside, and she took inspiration from the places around her. Before the completion of their house in East Hampton in 1884, the Morans rented around the area.
The etching seen here, which is untitled, was completed in 1881. Mary often depicted this type of landscape in her work. It shows sand dunes in the foreground with detailed trees and a windmill in the back. The windmill in view may be the Gardiner Mill, which Mary would have been able to see near her rental property. Mary signed this work as “M.N.M.,” deliberately hiding her gender, which she often did to gain acceptance in the male-dominated art world.
The Morans played an influential role in fostering East Hampton’s early art community, and her legacy lives on in the many local female artists balancing work with family responsibilities.
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Kristen Ahearn is a librarian and archivist in the Long Island Collection.
