When it comes to watercolors and paintings of trains and railroads, Ted Rose is by far my favorite. Since his death I have seen almost none of his stuff for sale. Does anyone know where his unsold paintings are? Are they being held for another show somewhere? Are any up for sale? Which dealer(s) handle his pictures? Can anyone be of help on this point?
Second question: Who is the best living painter of our favorite subject?
The Center for Railroad Photography and Art is working on the preservation and exposition of his work. http://www.railphoto-art.org/exhibits/rose.html . I am not sure, but I do not think his widow or any other heirs to his estate have his works for sale. Perhaps some pieces in privately held collections come up for sale from time to time.
Are you looking for original artwork or prints from the artwork? If you’re interested in prints, Friends of the East Broad Top www.febt.org has three different ones of his pieces available for a contribution to the restoration fund. Of course, they’re of East Broad Top subjects.
To answer your second question, John Winfield,bar none !
Talented railroad illustrators working today include Mitch Markovitz and Mike Danneman; they sometimes cross over into railroad painting. Ted was one of the very few railroad painters who achieved exposure in the rail enthusiast world; there haven’t been very many.
RWM
Oh, I don’t know. What about Gil Reid, Griff Teller and Howard Fogg?
Well I dont know about Griff but Gil and Howard are both deceased also…I have a lot of Gill Reids Amtrak prints…probably everyone he did…
Are they worth anything?
I knew Howard Fogg well and Gil Reid very well, and they called themselves “illustrators,” not painters. There’s a significant difference. One definition that’s seems clearly written is, “An illustration is a visualization such as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that stresses subject more than form.” Does that not seem to sum up most of the repertoir of railroad art, where it’s important what kind of locomotive is on the train, down to the correct placement of the air pumps? Ted (I knew him also) painted art where form was less important, including a substantial output that some of us would call abstract or impressionistic.
I never met Griff Teller but his work appears to be illustration to me.
RWM
I agree with your assessments, and did not mean to give the impression that Ted Rose was not the greatest of the group. He definitely was. Although Gil Reid and Howard Fogg were illustrators, and characterized themselve
If it came across I was implying Ted was “the greatest” of the group of Ted, Howard, Gil, I need to write more clearly! Their styles and audiences were different, and I don’t think they were competing with each other. I deeply appreciate the work of all three, for their artistry, their understanding of railroads and railroaders like me, and for their altrusim. They each wanted to make a living, but they were not in it for personal wealth or stature, they were in it to elevate all of our shared passion for railroading and show the rest of the world how much railroads mattered.
Ted was selling his work and repution primarily into a fine-art market whereas Gil and Howard were selling into a railroad and rail enthusiast market. I wouldn’t want to say which is more important.
Your recollection of Gil’s “Those Night Trains” strikes a chord with me. In my younger years I didn’t appreciate Gil’s work, based mostly I think on the Amtrak calendars and some other stuff that struck me as hasty. A few
Depending on the size that you want, there are some alternatives. One would be calendars produced each year. “Leanin’ Tree” has Christmas cards by several artists. And how many of you purchased the U.S. postage stamps, matching cards and wall mounts that were done by Ted Rose?
Thanks to all of you who have so far posted replies to my original post. I’m glad to see so many people who esteem the work of this, in my opinion, very under-valued American artist.
Art may be difficult to define but I agree with the definitions I’ve been reading here. I have often thought that a piece of art says something about the human condition. By any definition, I sense all of us consider Ted Rose’s work to be art, and not, say illustration.
My wife is a fine painter who has let me put a Ted Rose calendar on our kitchen wall, not because she loves trains as much as I do, but because she sincerely admires Ted Rose’s paintings as works of art. They are not just beautiful to look at, or tell a story, or say something about the human condition; they are beautifully composed, balanced, thought out, and above all, well-drawn. If his pictures weren’t very accurate we railfans wouldn’t admire them so much. If they weren’t technically proficient they wouldn’t work visually. But the also have an inner life to them, and I think this comes often from an organic quality they have. My wife will point out that to her eyes locomotives often look like certain sorts of animals or insects racing along, often looking determined. The point is, Ted Rose’s pictures work because they look believable and evoke something inside us as a response. What artist could ask for a greater reward?
Thanks to your recommendations here I have taken a look at all the living artists mentioned, a few of who I’ve already heard. And yes, for years I’ve sent out the Leanin’ Tree Christmas cards (always too syrupy for my taste, though) and yes, I bought and used very many Ted Rose stamps.
Ted Rose would be classified as a true “artist” in the realm of railway art. He truly captured the scene and his methods of painting water colour were perfect, his technique was what most W/C artists strive for. Not to demean the other painters, I would classify them in the illustrator field.
In other words, they evoke emotion! One of my favorites is of a locomotive passing MofW workers. I can hear the loco pounding past the men!
NKP guy,
That’s some mighty fine print to try to read. I agree about the abundance of syrupy Christmas cards, but, they do have a Ted Rose card along with some other very good train cards, so I can over look the pine sap.
Big Jim,
You’re sure right about my last font size being so small. I didn’t notice it until I was finished bloviating, and by then it was too late. I have had no luck in editing my submissions here; I must be missing something. When I hit “edit” I seem unable to actually edit what I’m proofing.
You’re right, too, about the key word being “emotion.” Ted Rose’s painting certainly have that!
I’ll be more careful about type size for us boomers, war babies, & older!
Appalachian Spring 1995
15" X 20" aquired in 2000 while in Santa Fe NM, from Zaplin - Lampert gallery.
Had a choice out of 5 of Teds paintings. This piece is truly incredible.
Photos available.
Living Artist, Bernhard Draiscol of Santa Fe, I have two of his pieces of the Santa Fe NM station, painted on board.
I would assume the reason there are not too many TR paintings around is because he probably sold most of them, his art was in high demand, simply because of the mood of his paintings.
It’s already been noted but I’ll toss in my two cents. Ted Rose never had much in the way of a backlog of paintings. Those that he did have sold quickly. If you Google Ted Rose and Watercolor or sales you will find one or two collections of his work have come on the market and were very quickly purchased. The only sites that list the paintings are membership only and they require a fee so I don’t know the selling price.
I went to Santa Fe, New Mexico back in 1999 and one of the things on my to-do list was to visit his gallery. When I arrived I couldn’t find it. I had the phone number from the small ad he used to place in one of the railroad magazines so I called to ask directions. He answered the phone and told me he didn’t have a gallery but that I was welcome to drop by his house. Needless to say, I was thrilled and I did. He had a small studio detached from the house and, besides his easel and other painting instruments there were a few cases and a couple of framed paintings on the walls. We talked awhile and I asked if I could see some of his work. He pulled out a folio which held perhaps 15 unmounted water colors of various sizes and he stated pretty much what I said above - he didn’t have a large inventory and his paintings tended to sell quickly.
I flipped through the group and one, State Line Tower, really caught my eye. You are standing trackside at State Line Tower on the Ohio-Indiana border. It’s winter - overcast, blowing snow, perhaps January or February. #757, a huge NKP berk is blasting past headed east and coming up fast on the westbound is another engine. Smoke, steam and blowing snow is everywhere. I looked at the painting, put it aside, came back and looked at it again and finally I sighed and said I had to know what he was asking for it. The price was based on the size of the painting and it was about the same pri
I enjoy the work of Peter Lerro.
http://www.lerroproductions.com/railroadart.html
I had “Orders in Hand” hanging in my office (before my mystical journey to cubeville) and received lots of comments from non-rail people.