Thomas Moran was born in a family of textile workers as the fifth son. He was born on the 12th day of February in the year 1837 in the City of Bolton, United Kingdom, and died on the 25th day of August in the year 1926.
Due to the industrial revolution, Moran's parents, who were working as laborers in the textile industry, were forced to relocate to America to search for better opportunities.

As a talented illustrator and exceptional colorist of the time, Thomas Moran was offered a job as an illustrator at Scribner's Monthly. By the late 1860s, he was promoted to the position of the chief illustrator for magazine. This position helped him advance his painting career as a premier landscape painter.