"We Shall not Fail, New
York Central System," Leslie Ragan, 1943. Photo by Michael E.
Zega.
NEW YORK CITY - For more than a century, the railroad dominated
popular travel. American railroad posters, with their vivid
colors, powerful imagery and catchy slogans, skillfully promoted
the thrill of . Adventure, the allure of exotic faraway places
and exciting destinations, dramatic mountain vistas, sumptuous
dining and comfortable sleeping berths graphically rendered in
big, bold strokes helped make train travel practically
irresistible.
From February 17 through June 22, at its Gallery Annex in Grand
Central Terminal, the New York Transit Museum will present a
collection of these posters in an exhibition, ": The American
Railroad Poster, 1870-1950."
The exhibition includes examples of posters produced by the New
York Central System, the Pennsylvania Railroad, the New Haven
Railroad and the Santa Fe Railroad, among others. Vintage model
trains from the museum's Lawrence Scripps Wilkinson Collection,
representative of many of the railroads depicted in the posters,
will also be on display.
The As competing railroads fought to position and "brand" their
product within an increasingly competitive industry, a diverse
and visually powerful array of images emerged from the pens of
their designers. Locomotives soared across the sky, Native
Americans performed ancient rituals and streamliners pierced
shimmering landscapes. An astonishing body of work, the American
railroad poster documents an adventurous, imaginative era in
American travel.
": The American Railroad Poster, 1870-1950" was organized by the
New York Transit Museum and Michael E. Zega, co-author of :
The American Railroad Poster, 1870-1950 (Bloomington Indiana
University Press), 2002.
For information, 212-878-0106 or www.mta.info.
