Thomas Moran was born in Bolton, Lancashire, England. About 1840 the Moran family immigrated to America. They settled in Philadelphia where the children received an education rich in art. At the age of sixteen, Moran became apprenticed to a wood engraving firm.

Moran and his brother Edward (a marine painter of considerable accomplishment) were introduced to the works of outstanding U.S. and European artists by James Hamilton to whom the young men took their pictures for criticism. Moran particularly admired the work of J.M.W. Turner. After studying illustrations of Turner's work, Moran resolved to see his original paintings, in color. In 1861 he traveled abroad to London to study firsthand the paintings of Turner and Claude Lorrain. To learn Turner's technical processes, he carefully copied two or three of his oils and a larger number of his watercolors. When the directors of the National Gallery saw the exquisite work he was doing, he was given a room in the gallery where he could work undisturbed.

In 1871 Moran accompanied the exploring expedition to the Yellowstone country and in 1873 went upon a similar expedition under Major John Wesley Powell, making sketches for his two great works, "The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" and "The Chasm of the Colorado," which were purchased by Congress for ten thousand dollars each and are now both hanging in the Capitol in Washington.

Though renowned for his Western landscapes, Moran did not forsake the European scene. He visited Venice in 1886 and again in 1890. He produced several paintings of the city that were shown at the National Academy of Design in the following years. The Venice canal was a favorite subject of Moran's and a recurring theme in his painting.

When he returned from his second trip to Venice, Moran brought a large gondola back to his East Hampton home. This gondola served as a model for many of his Venetian paintings. After his death in 1926, it was donated to the Mariners' Museum at Newport News, Virginia.