Moran, perhaps more than any other painter of his time, was
responsible for making Americans aware of their great natural heritage. The
enthusiastic response to his pictures of the West, particularly of the Yellowstone
and Grand Teton region, were influential in Congress's decision to establish
the National Park System in 1872. Moran accompanied an 1871 government
expedition to the Yellowstone, and his superb watercolors of its spectacular
geological formations helped persuade Congress to establish the area as the
first national park in 1872.
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