''Colburn's Butte, South Utah'' is a watercolor painting by the American artist

Thomas Moran Thomas Moran (February 12, 1837 – August 25, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family, wife Mary Nimmo Moran and daughter Ruth, took ...

, created in 1873. Done in watercolor, gouache, and graphite on wove paper, the work depicts

Tucupit Point Tucupit Point is a prominent sandstone pinnacle in the Kolob Canyons area of Zion National Park in Washington County, Utah, Washington County, Utah, United States. Description The formation lays off of Taylor Creek Trail (Zion National Park), Ta ...

(formerly Colburn's Butte) in the

Kolob Canyons Zion National Park is a national park of the United States located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a ...

Zion National Park Zion National Park is a national park of the United States located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a ...

Description

''Colburn's Butte'' was rendered by Moran after the artist viewed the Kolob Canyons on a trip from

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

to the north rim of the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

. At the time, Moran was travelling to join an expedition of

John Wesley Powell John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He ...

along the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

.Childs, E. (1996). ''Time''s Profile: John Wesley Powell, Art, and Geology at the Grand Canyon. ''American Art,'' ''10''(1), 7-35. Retrieved January 25, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/3109213 Moran's party passed a then unnamed pinnacle in July, with Moran choosing to render a watercolor drawing of the geographic feature. He would later give the watercolor to

Justin Colburn Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527), ...

, a correspondent for the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' travelling with Moran, for whom "Colburn's Butte" would later be named. Moran later made an engraving (heavily based on his watercolor) of the butte and published it in ''

The Aldine ''The Aldine'' was a monthly arts magazine published in New York in the 1800s. History ''The Aldine'' was published by Sutton Browne & Company starting in 1868 as ''The Aldine Press'', which was shortened in 1871. Subtitles included ''A typogra ...

''. In the watercolor, several peaks can be seen; the titular Colburn's Butte can be identified as the second from left peak with a white cloud behind it. Colburn's Butte would later be renamed Tucupit Point, and the landmark now falls within the borders of Zion National Park. The watercolor was donated to the Met in 2009.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colburn's Butte, South Utah 1873 paintings Paintings by Thomas Moran Landscape paintings Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Watercolor paintings Works about Utah