Moran took up etching in the summer of 1879 while her husband, the painter Thomas Moran, was away with his brother Peter on a sketching trip in the western United States. She took to the medium quickly, and in just a few years she established herself as one of the foremost printmakers in New York. Her bold style, characterized by vigorous linework, dramatic lighting, and scenes of rural poverty and decay, drew widespread praise, with the prominent art critic Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer describing her work as “direct, empathetic, bold—exceeding in these qualities, perhaps that of any of her male co-workers.”

Changing tastes eventually overshadowed Moran and led to the neglect of her historical contributions. By the end of the 19th century, her rural landscape imagery seemed outmoded and sentimental, and her reputation was soon eclipsed by printmakers working with more conspicuously modern subject matter, such as the American impressionist Mary Cassatt.

—Text taken from the Carter Handbook (2023).