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The Railroad in American Art: Representation of Technological Change
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230 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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October 13, 2018
Erudite yet readable, the book contains several essays dealing with individual artworks, bookended by sections which provide an overview of the history of rail in American art and an analysis of how this representation indicates the country's contemporary zeitgeist.
For the most part, the book is impressive and gives clear, concise backgrounds to the works and their place in the history of American rail. The essays by Danly and O'Gorman in particular were fascinating. The only sour note was the concluding essay by Leo Marx which - despite several pinpoint observations - managed (in my opinion) to miss the mark with the analysis several of the works and was presented in a fairly dry manner.
Overall, however, the book is a worthwhile read, perhaps surprisingly more so for those interested in the history of railways than for those interested in art (although they, of course, will also get a lot out of the volume).
For the most part, the book is impressive and gives clear, concise backgrounds to the works and their place in the history of American rail. The essays by Danly and O'Gorman in particular were fascinating. The only sour note was the concluding essay by Leo Marx which - despite several pinpoint observations - managed (in my opinion) to miss the mark with the analysis several of the works and was presented in a fairly dry manner.
Overall, however, the book is a worthwhile read, perhaps surprisingly more so for those interested in the history of railways than for those interested in art (although they, of course, will also get a lot out of the volume).
Displaying 1 of 1 review