Railroads and the American Industrial Landscape
Ted Rose Paintings
and Photographs
An exhibition of photographs and watercolors by Ted Rose (1940–2002), one of the greatest railroad artists in the United States. Beginning in 2006, the CRP&A has produced and circulated two versions of the exhibition, co-published a catalog, preserved Rose’s photography along with several of his paintings, and prepared multiple presentations about his remarkable life and work.
In accord with artist Ted Rose’s wishes, the Center produced an exhibition, conservation, and publishing program. The Center partnered on the original exhibition with the Ted Rose Studio, with support from the North American Railway Foundation. It included forty-nine watercolor paintings and photographs of American industrial settings in the twentieth century. “The railroad is a central American cultural icon, and the subject inspired works by some of the nation’s most important 19th and 20th century artists. In his paintings and photographs, Ted Rose shows himself a worthy member of this aesthetic pantheon,” Prof. Betsy Fahlman said at the opening at Marquette University. She also gave a talk at the opening in Sacramento.
“A native of Milwaukee, that dynamic Midwestern industrial city established the visual foundation of his art. Working in the evanescent medium of watercolor, Rose captured the vigorous atmosphere of the American railroad, his limpid colors and liquid washes conveying the crash and roar of his favorite subject. His paintings are positioned at the intersection of realism and imagination, and in portraying the modern industrial landscape of commerce, he recognized that the railroad was a central component,” Fahlman said.
Another exhibition, Ted Rose, The Artist’s Early Photography, was featured in the trackside lobby in spring 2009 at the O. Winston Link Museum, Roanoke, Virginia. Sponsored by Trains magazine, it focused on Rose’s early photographic accomplishments. The show featured forty photographs, including three on the Norfolk & Western, and essays by friends of Rose and experts on his work. Between 1956 and 1962, Rose followed trains and rode the rails in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Guatemala. His black and white photographs taken during his journeys capture the last days of active steam railroading in North America. The Center also produced a special issue of Railroad Heritage in 2008 to develop greater public awareness and appreciation for Rose’s seldom seen photographs.
A lead gift from John A. Mellowes, chairman and CEO of Charter Manufacturing (Mequon, Wisconsin), made the exhibitions possible. Charter’s companies operate steel making, rolling, processing, and forming facilities in Wisconsin and Ohio. Kalmbach Publishing Company, publisher of Trains and Classic Trains, joined as a major donor. In addition, gifts have come from 135 patrons.
Working with Polly Rose and the Ted Rose Studio (Santa Fe, New Mexico), Lake Forest College Special Collections Department (Lake Forest, Illinois), and the Haggerty Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin), the Center organized the program to exhibit, conserve, and publish these photographs. The Center and the Special Collections Department are cataloging and preserving the photography collection of more than a thousand pieces, in accord with Rose’s wishes.
View the presentation
In 2020, the Colorado Railroad Museum and the CRP&A co-hosted an online presentation about Ted Rose featuring Chuck Albi, past president of the Museum, and Scott Lothes, executive director of the Center. In 2022, Lothes gave a gallery talk in conjunction with the Rose exhibition at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth, with seating in the main exhibition hall. The locomotive at far right is a Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range 2-8-8-4 “Yellowstone;” Rose photographed a few of them in their final year of service.
Background
Rose was born and raised in Milwaukee. During the summers of high school and college he worked at Kalmbach Publishing Company when its offices were in downtown Milwaukee. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a BFA in painting (honors) and minors in printmaking and history in 1962. After serving in the U.S. Army, 1963-65, including one Vietnam tour, he returned to Kalmbach for a few months. He also worked for the Chicago & North Western as a night brakeman. In 1965, lured by the mystique of the Denver & Rio Grande Western, he moved to Chama, New Mexico, and then settled in Santa Fe in 1966. It was in Santa Fe that he met and married Polly. Their son Jesse and daughter Molly both inherited their father’s creativity.
During his years in Santa Fe, Rose was a successful graphic designer. He designed the logos and paint scheme for the Santa Fe Southern Railway in 1993. In 2001 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Northern New Mexico Advertising Federation.
What is less known is that Ted Rose was also a remarkable photographer. His early creativity found expression through the camera. As a young man between 1956 and 1962, he followed trains and rode the rails in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala. His stunning, mostly black-and-white photographs taken during these journeys capture the last days of active steam railroading in America. Their quality also hints at an artistic impulse that was expressed several years later in his painting.
In 1983, after a 20-year hiatus, Rose returned to his love of painting. He quickly became well known for his work in watercolors. A full-time painter, he was awarded signature memberships in the prestigious American Watercolor Society (1993) and the National Watercolor Society (1999). On a national level, he created five paintings in 1999 for the U.S. Postal Service’s “All Aboard” stamp series and three Amtrak calendars (1997, 1998, and 1999) plus an illustration for Amtrak’s on-board magazine.
Ted Rose died of cancer in 2002. The world lost a prolific artist who painted more than 1,000 paintings in less than 20 years. He continued painting right up to his final illness. Obituaries ran across the country, from the Washington Post to the Los Angeles Times.
Rose’s photographs in concert with his paintings demonstrate that the painter was also a photographer. He perceived a vibrant world both through the camera and on canvas. This collection is a tribute to creative efforts made throughout his life.
Rose’s photography remains largely unknown. He presented the photos only twice locally in Santa Fe in the 1970s. Artists Georgia O’Keeffe, Laura Gilpin, and Otto Kuhler were among the guests at the first exhibit’s opening.
About the exhibition
Installation of Railroads and the American Industrial Landscape at the Carnegie Visual Arts Center in Decatur, Alabama, in 2017. Photographs courtesy of the venue
Hosting the traveling exhibition
This exhibition is currently out of circulation for preservation.
About the Exhibition
- Since 2015, the CRP&A has circulated an exhibition with 24 silver gelatin prints, 4 watercolors, and 1 charcoal drawing, all from its own collection
- From 2006 through 2009, the CRP&A circulated an exhibition that featured 27 paintings on loan from the Ted Rose Studio along with 22 photographs from the CRP&A collection
- The pieces range in size from 10×13 inches to 24×36 inches, matted and framed in wood
- One introductory panel and exhibition labels for each piece
- 135 linear feet, total (current version)
Previous venues
- Lake Superior Railroad Museum, Duluth, Minnesota, May 30 to September 5, 2022
- Colorado Railroad Museum, Golden, Colorado, February 3 through December 2020
- Carnegie Visual Arts Center, Decatur, Alabama, September 25 through November 11, 2017
- Oliver Jensen Gallery, Valley Railroad Company, Essex, Connecticut, May 27 through October 30, 2016
- Ford Center for Fine Arts, Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, June 10 through mid-August 2015
- O. Winston Link Museum, Roanoke, Virginia, Spring 2009
- Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Strasburg, 2008
- California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento, November 2, 2006 through January 14, 2007
- Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 8 through May 9, 2006
In gratitude
Polly Rose, the Rose family, and the Ted Rose Studio donated Ted’s photography collection to the CRP&A and have enthusiastically supported all of our efforts to preserve and share his remarkable work. The North American Railway Foundation, Kalmbach Publishing Company, and many individuals including John Mellowes and John McGreer provided financial support. Following the initial exhibition, we have received donations of original Ted Rose artwork from Kathy Jones, Molly Rose, Polly Rose, Julie Sullivan, Gail Ward, and Michael Wolly.
Online exhibition