Erie Railroad
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Object Details
- Artist
- Unidentified
- Luce Center Label
- This painting was created by an unknown artist in Pennsylvania, probably during the mid- to late nineteenth century. Folk art collector Herbert Waide Hemphill Jr. acquired the piece in 1962 and added the unusual frame, which is carved and stained to resemble tree limbs. The Erie Railroad was chartered in 1832, and the first train ran from New York to Lake Erie in 1851, with President Millard Fillmore as a passenger. In this painting, the sweeping track and accompanying telegraph poles emphasize the dramatic growth of transport and communications during the second half of the nineteenth century. The man fishing in the foreground, however, evokes a simpler time when the world moved less quickly.
- Credit Line
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
- 19th century
- Object number
- 1986.65.146
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- Painting
- Folk Art
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 18 1/2 x 22 1/4 in. (47.0 x 56.5 cm.)
- See more items in
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- On View
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 14B
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Topic
- Architecture\bridge
- Landscape\water
- Architecture\vehicle\train
- Recreation\sport and play\fishing
- Figure male\full length
- Architecture\science\power lines
- Record ID
- saam_1986.65.146
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7267292e3-2b9a-4bd6-9a32-4ef118851124
Related Content
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
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