Union Pacific
1996
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image/sheet: 19.3 × 24.1 cm (7 5/8 × 9 1/2 in.) mount: 40.64 × 50.8 cm (16 × 20 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Gregory and Aline Gooding
Accession Number
2012.104.1
Art Historical Context
Mark Ruwedel's *Union Pacific* (199) is a striking gelatin silver print measuring 19.3 × 24.1 cm (7 5/8 × 9 1/2 in.), elegantly mounted to 40.64 × 50.8 cm (16 × 20 in.). photograph evokes the storied history of the Union Pacific Railroad a cornerstone of 19th-century American expansion helped forge the transcontinental route in 1869, linking East and West and transforming the nation's economy and landscape. The gelatin silver print medium, a hallmark of traditional darkroom photography, delivers exceptional tonal depth and clarity through light-sensitive silver halide emulsions exposed and de...
About the Artist
Mark Ruwedel
Mark Ruwedel, born on June 11, 1954, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, initially pursued painting, earning a BFA from Kutztown State College in 1978. He transitioned to photography during this time, later obtaining an MFA from Concordia University in Montreal in 1983. Working as a custom printer in Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1980 honed his technical skills before he relocated to Canada, where he taught a...