In the summer of 1900, a few months after the death of his beloved wife Mary, Moran returned to Yellowstone, accompanied by his youngest daughter Ruth. During the next two decades Thomas and Ruth frequently spent the winter months at the Grand Canyon. In exchange for rail passes and hotel accommodations, Moran produced paintings of the canyon that were used as promotional tools in hotels, offices, and railroad cars. Additional images were distributed on calendars in guidebooks and brochures, even on stationery.