Moore, Mount Washington, 1872, Charles Herbert Moore

Charles herbert moore, american, 1840–1930 mount washington, 1872 watercolor and touches of graphite on cream wove paper 16 x 23 cm (6 5/16 x 9 1/16 in. ) gift of miss elizabeth huntington moore, the artist's daughter, presented by mrs. Frank jewett mather jr. X1955-69 moore’s exquisite watercolor landscapes and nature studies were inspired by the teachings of john ruskin, who singled out watercolor as the ideal medium with which to celebrate nature—specifically and accurately—as the embodiment of the divine. Created relatively early in moore’s career, while he was living in the catskill mountains, snow squall expressively captures a wintry landscape at twilight, with the arc of clouds above signifying a passing storm. The same undulating forms reappear in the later and more minutely rendered mount washington, where the iconic new hampshire peak rises with quiet grandeur above an idyllic valley as observed in late autumn. Thanks to the persistence and dedication of pioneering director frank jewett mather jr. (1922–46), the princeton university art museum is one of the leading repositories of moore’s work, together with harvard’s fogg art museum, where moore served as its first director (1896–1901). Date: 1872.