Railway

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Artist Saul Steinberg (American, 1914–1999)

Title Railway

Date 1949

Medium Black ink, watercolor, and and gouache on paper

Dimensions Image: 12 13/16 x 19 11/16 in. (32.5 x 50 cm)
Sheet: 12 13/16 x 19 11/16 in. (32.5 x 50 cm)
Framed (Exhibition Frame): 23 1/8 x 29 1/8 x 1 in. (58.7 x 74 x 2.5 cm)

Credit Line Gift of The Saul Steinberg Foundation, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 2019.65

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About this Work

Railroad stations often show up in Steinberg’s body of work—he loved trains and the architecture of railway terminals. In this piece, depicting the train depot in Blaye, France, Steinberg seems to have disliked an aspect of this drawing on the left side and attempted to cover it with dark black ink. This large spot above the building feels out of place, but also gives an ominous, surreal aspect to the scene. Though rejected elements of the drawing peek through around the edges of the ink, the black spot now dramatically looms over the previously mundane train scene.

Provenance
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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Railway | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=2019.65