John Moran (American, 1829–1902)

b. 1829 — d. 1902

John Moran American, b. England, 1829-1902 John Moran (born in Bolton) is known best as a landscape photographer who worked in Philadelphia. As early as 1859, when his name first appeared in the city directory, Moran produced artistic architectural views that were considered technically superior. His landscape work included private estates, as well as views of nature in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. The painting of the era, perhaps through his brother, landscape artist Thomas Moran, strongly influenced his images. Moran became a member of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia in 1862, serving as vice president in 1872. He worked as a government survey photographer, replacing Timothy O'Sullivan in 1871 on the Darien Exhibition, which surveyed the Isthmus of Panama in search of a canal route, and in 1874 traveled to Tasmania and South Africa to photograph the transit of Venus. Moran returned to Philadelphia, but later abandoned photography to paint landscapes. T.W.F.