Railroad Landscapes – John Sanderson

Tuesday, June 28, 2022
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom
Registration closes on Monday, June 27 at 4:30 p.m. (CST)

Now Available on YouTube

John Sanderson will discuss the origins and progress of his on-going photographic series titled Railroad Landscapes. This project explores the territory adjacent to America’s railways using large format film cameras. An ongoing project since 2009, this work has taken him throughout the United States in search of photographs. Along the way, Sanderson has captured the unique way the American railroad bisects cities, towns, countryside and vast wilderness. The project deliberately leaves the train out of the picture, reflecting instead, as Sanderson says “on the landscape as something independent of its intended use.”

John Sanderson is drawn to broad topographical subjects within the United States. It is in the outdoors that he feels most creative. His photographs reconcile American motives of impermanence, and expansion within the contemporary landscape. His projects include themes such as transportation, leisure, residence, industry, and decay. The influence of growing up in New York City’s Midtown Manhattan underpins much of Sanderson’s work, which is rooted in a passion for architectural design. He captures photographs for each project with multiple large format film cameras as well as smaller digital cameras as needed. Sanderson’s photographs have been featured in a variety of publications such as: PDN Magazine, Slate Magazine, BBC News, The Wall Street Journal, Lenscratch, and NBC News. Two projects, Fallen Flags and Railroad Landscapes, have been the subject of several solo and group exhibitions. His work resides in a number of private and public collections including the Figge Museum of Art, MTA Metro North Railroad, New York Transit Museum, Center for Railroad Photography & Art, and the special collection libraries of the International Center of Photography, Amon Carter Museum, and UC Berkeley. Zatara Press published his Carbon County project in 2019.

This event is free.

Grain Elevator, Sayre, OK

John Sanderson

Continuity & Change: The Lure of North American Railroads

Continuity & Change: The Lure of North American Railroads is a dazzling publication by the Center for Railroad Photography & Art that explores the photography of contemporary railroading in North America and the passage of time. 230 photographs and thirteen essays delve into a wide range of topics: railroads and nature, pathways of commerce, passenger railroading, heritage activities, workers, international connections, continent-crossing networks, and how the passage of time marks both railroads and photography.

That last notion is at the heart of this 384-page book. Railroads and photography came of age together in the nineteenth century and share a dynamic relationship in the twenty-first. That relationship flows from the traditions of both photojournalism and commercial photography, and it is defined today by the paradox of continuity and change.

Drawing from the Center’s talented community of image-makers and from their own lifelong interests in railroads and the visual arts, editors Alexander Craghead and Scott Lothes present a stunning body of work in a lavish production. As a bonus to commemorate the Center’s 25th anniversary, eight foldouts are included with spectacular railroad images that could not be limited to two pages of coverage.

Continuity & Change is a landmark book that makes the compelling case that the union of railroads and photography is as rich and potent as ever.

Hardcover, 11×11 inches, 384 pages, 230 photographs including eight foldouts
$65 plus $9 for domestic shipping (It weighs 6.5 pounds!)
International shipping is available; please inquire by email at info [at] railphoto-art.org

Railroad Heritage, Spring 2022: Huddleston, Shicotte, Wellington Avalanche, and Plowden

Join Gene Huddleston for a tour of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway in the late steam and early diesel era, in a cover story that previews Karen Parker’s presentation about Huddleston at Conversations 2022. The conference will also feature live music by up-and-coming country singer Erik Shicotte, a died-in-the-wool railfan from Wisconsin who Justin Franz profiles in this issue. In “The Railroad and the Art of Place,” Martin Burwash explores the remnants of the 1910 Wellington Avalanche on the Great Northern Railway in Washington’s Cascade Mountains.

This issue also features an interview with David Plowden, along with a special tribute to him and his profound influence on our community of photographers. Fourteen of them share an image and an essay discussing Plowden’s impact on their work. We introduce Elrond Lawrence, who just joined us in the new role of Acquisitions & Marketing Coordinator. He showcases a Santa Fe-inspired public art installation in Monrovia, California, by Christine Geltz. In her “Out of the Archives” column, Adrienne Evans has a Q&A with Erin Rose, a former intern who (re) joined us last fall in the new role of reference and digital projects archivist. Arjan den Boer presents a pair of striking posters for Dutch boat trains. There’s also a book review of John Free’s End of the Line, news of our recent exhibitions and events, and our annual list of donors‐the people who make all of our work possible.

$7.95, 68 pages, color and b/w

The Art of Railroading from the Grohmann Museum Collection

Tuesday, March 1, 2022
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom
Registration closes on Monday, February 28 at 4:30 p.m. (CST)

Now Available on YouTube

James Kieselburg, director of the Grohmann Museum at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) will share a survey of railroad images, including prints, photographs, paintings, and sculpture, from the museum’s collection.

James Kieselburg is the Director at the Grohmann Museum at Milwaukee School of Engineering. James has spent the past 20+ years at the Museums of Beloit College, UW-Milwaukee, Marquette University, and MSOE. He is the curator of several recent exhibitions including STEEL: Photographs by David Plowden, The Magnificent Machines of Milwaukee, and The Two Edmunds. He has also published numerous books, essays and articles for the Grohmann Museum, The Society for Industrial Archeology, and even the Center for Railroad Photography and Art. His scholarly pursuits focus on museum design, the art of industry, Regionalist and Precisionist painting, and the sociology of work.

This event is free.

Railroad Workers (Adzing for Tie Plates). Leonhard Sandrock, ca. 1910. From the collection of Grohmann Museum at Milwaukee School of Engineering

James Kieselburg, director at the Grohmann Museum at Milwaukee School of Engineering

Postcards from my Seventy-Two Year Vacation – A Conversation with Mitch Markovitz

Tuesday, February 8, 2022
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom
Registration closes on Monday, February 7 at 4:30 p.m. (CDT)

Now Available on YouTube

Painter Mitch Markovitz will discuss his lifelong love of railroad art from his earliest memories of visiting the Illinois Central’s Grand Crossing station with his mother to running trains by the same station forty years later as an engineer. Now a revered artist, the themes of his works tend to focus on the world of railroading – not just trains but life in railroad situations – through the medium of oil paint.

In this program Mitch will deliver a thirty-minute presentation on his art and then we will open the floor for a long-form Q&A session. Attendees will have the opportunity to unmute and ask their questions live.

Mitch Markovitz was born on the south side of Chicago and has enjoyed a lifelong interest in the arts and railroading. He attended the American Academy of Art and the Chicago Academy of Fine Art before being hired out to the Chicago and North Western Railroad in 1969 at first as a brakeman and later a suburban ticket collector and passenger service trainman. Mitch’s role in the railroad industry has been robust with him holding a large variety of positions, including fireman, hostler, engineer, Amtrak ticket clerk, conductor, service coordinator, and chef. From 1984 to 1999 he served as the art and creative director, assistant passenger traffic manager, trainman, and engineer for the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railway. Today he channels his vast experience of railroading into oil paintings as a commissioned artist. He has also authored the publication “How to Draw and Paint Trains Like a Pro,” and co-authored “Moonlight in Duneland.”

This event is free.