Train in Coal Town

Jack Savitsky, Train in Coal Town, 1968, oil on fiberboard, 31 ¹⁄₄ x 47 ³⁄₄ in. (79.4 x 121.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.137

Artwork Details

Title: Train in Coal Town
Artist: Jack Savitsky
Date: 1968
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
Luce Foundation Center
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3rd Floor
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22A
Dimensions: 31 ¹⁄₄ x 47 ³⁄₄ in. (79.4 x 121.3 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on fiberboard
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Architecture — industry — mine
Architecture — vehicle — train
Landscape — Pennsylvania — Silver Creek
Landscape — town
Object Number: 1986.65.137
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.137

Artwork Description

Jack Savitsky’s Train in Coal Town depicts a coal-fired passenger train traveling between Pottsville and Silver Creek, two well-known coal towns in Pennsylvania. Behind the smoky plume of the locomotive stand a blue-gray coal breaker and eight mill houses---the very houses that make up the painting's border. Savitsky conveys the sameness and unending work of the company town through his use of repetitive patterning and decorative elements. However, the lively colors and cheerful rural setting also reflect an energetic spirit within the miner community.