[Nature Study]
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.Leaning against the trunk of a beech tree, the man in this picture wields a hidden instrument in the service of a mysterious task. Is he collecting botanical samples or carving a message into the bark? Remnants of past inscriptions on the trunk—visible through magnification—suggest the latter. In either case, it is clear that John Moran, who believed in photography’s ability to conjure delight in the contemplation of nature, saw the central figure as a surrogate: someone who left his mark on nature just as Moran left nature’s mark embedded in the surface of his light-sensitive paper.
Artwork Details
- Title: [Nature Study]
- Artist: John Moran (American (born England), Bolton, Lancashire 1821–1903 Pennsylvania)
- Date: early 1860s
- Medium: Albumen silver print from glass negative
- Dimensions: Image: 7 9/16 × 5 7/16 in. (19.2 × 13.8 cm)
Sheet: 7 9/16 × 5 7/16 in. (19.2 × 13.8 cm)
Mount: 12 × 9 in. (30.5 × 22.9 cm)
Frame (approx): 17 x 14 in. - Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: William L. Schaeffer Collection, Promised Gift of Jennifer and Philip Maritz, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary
- Object Number: L.2019.57.481
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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