Norfolk Southern Tracks, Attica, Ohio
April 21, 1991
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 24.2 × 27.9 cm (9 1/2 × 11 in.) sheet: 27.9 × 35.3 cm (11 × 13 7/8 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of the Artist
Accession Number
2020.158.25
Art Historical Context
In the serene yet evocative *Norfolk Southern Tracks,ica, Ohio* (April 21, 1991), contemporary photographer James Welling captures slice of rural American life through the lens of industrial legacy. This gelatin silver print, measuring 24.2 × 27.9 cm (image) on a 27.9 × 35.3 cm sheet, depicts the weathered tracks of the Norfolk Southern railway snaking through the quiet town of Attica, Ohio. Created in 1991, the work reflects a moment in post-industrial America, where railroads—once the backbone of commerce and migration—stand as monuments to human ingenuity and endurance. Welling's choice of...
About the Artist
James Welling
James Welling, born in 1951 in Hartford, Connecticut, emerged as one of the most innovative voices in contemporary American photography through a multidisciplinary path that shaped his experimental ethos. He began his artistic training at Carnegie-Mellon University, studying drawing under Gandy Brodie, a second-generation Abstract Expressionist, before exploring modern dance at the University of P...