{
 "schema": "nephos.method.v1",
 "slug": "moran-grand-canyon-yellowstone-1893-1901",
 "title": "Thomas Moran, The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, 1893–1901, SAAM 1928.7.1",
 "urls": [
  "/studies/moran-grand-canyon-yellowstone-1893-1901"
 ],
 "written": {
  "summary": "Moran returned in 1892. Two inscribed canyon sketches date to 26 and 31 July; he visited other parts of the park between them. This is a fieldwork window for a later studio painting.",
  "items": [
   {
    "quote": "T. M. July 26th 1892.",
    "source": "Moran’s inscription, West Wall of the Canyon, Cooper Hewitt 1917-17-19; museum transcription.",
    "url": "https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18189527/"
   },
   {
    "quote": "July 31st, 1892. T. M.",
    "source": "Moran’s inscription, Moran’s Point, Cooper Hewitt 1917-17-51; museum transcription.",
    "url": "https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18189737/"
   }
  ]
 },
 "records": [
  {
   "name": "Fort Yellowstone daily register, July 1892",
   "detail": "12 maximum/minimum readings across 6 dates, manually transcribed from the Army form. Mammoth context; no canyon thermometer.",
   "url": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/nerms/api/document/58C0B58784E44BD486CF88C2BD94814C/download"
  },
  {
   "name": "Letters, inscribed sketches and contemporary reviews",
   "detail": "The NGA chronology transcribes Moran’s letters and 1892 studio reports; Cooper Hewitt supplies the dated inscriptions.",
   "url": "https://www.nga.gov/sites/default/files/migrate_images/content/dam/ngaweb/research/publications/pdfs/thomas-moran.pdf#page=259"
  }
 ],
 "gaps": [
  "No document identifies a day represented by the canvas.",
  "The selected rain cells are blank; the form has no cloud column.",
  "The original letters and newspapers were not inspected; their published transcriptions were."
 ],
 "tests": [
  {
   "claim": "Did Moran simply repeat the earlier painting?",
   "result": "No. The NGA identifies removed figures, smaller framing trees and looser handling. A contemporary review contrasts morning and afternoon effects."
  },
  {
   "claim": "What can the daily record establish?",
   "result": "At Fort Yellowstone the daily maxima range from 62 to 86 °F, and minima from 38 to 48 °F. These are post temperatures, not canyon weather."
  },
  {
   "claim": "Do the records confirm the painted atmosphere?",
   "result": "Unknown. Neither a depicted day nor matching local observations have been established."
  }
 ],
 "finding": "A changed composition after a documented return. Daily temperatures give context at Mammoth; they cannot date or validate the painted spray and sky.",
 "verdicts": [
  {
   "claim": "Painted weather at the canyon",
   "verdict": "Unknown",
   "reason": "No depicted day, local cloud record or measured spray is established."
  }
 ],
 "limits": [
  "The span between sketches is not continuous canyon residence.",
  "Blank rain cells are not zero rainfall.",
  "No 1871–1892 climate trend, climatic rank or modern anomaly is calculated.",
  "The review describes the 1892 exhibited state; the precise changes associated with the final 1901 date remain unresolved."
 ]
}