Ted Rose Memorial Progam

Polly Rose greets guests at the exhibition opening March 9, 2006, at Marquette University in Milwaukee. People traveled from around the country for the opening, including Rose and her daughter. Photo by Henry A. Koshollek, M.A.

"Railroads and the American Industrial Landscape: Ted Rose Paintings and Photographs" opens May 17 at its third location, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg. The exhibition is brought to you by the Ted Rose Studio and the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, with support from the North American Railway Foundation. It continues through December 30, 2008.

Other 2008 activities include a special issue of Railroad Heritage to develop public awareness and appreciation for the seldom seen photographs of artist Ted Rose (1940-2002), AWS, NWS. In accord with Rose's wishes, the Center's conservation and publishing program of his work continues. For more images, go to railroadheritage.org.

Through the Center's efforts, the exhibition opened at the Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University, Milwaukee, and traveled to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. The 68-page, full color catalog (PDF, 1.4 MB) with scholarly essays and a complete record of the exhibition is on sale. An insert with a checklist is being prepared for the Pennsylvania exhibition.

The Center and the Haggerty Museum presented the Wisconsin exhibition March 8-May 29, 2006. It included 49 watercolor paintings and photographs of American industrial settings in the twentieth century. "The railroad is a central American cultural icon, and the subject inspired works by some of the nation's most important 19th and 20th century artists. In his paintings and photographs, Ted Rose shows himself a worthy member of this aesthetic pantheon," Prof. Betsy Fahlman said at the opening at Marquette University. She also gave a talk at the opening in Sacramento. "A native of Milwaukee, that dynamic midwestern industrial city established the visual foundation of his art. Working in the evanescent medium of watercolor, Rose captured the vigorous atmosphere of the American railroad, his limpid colors and liquid washes conveying the crash and roar of his favorite subject. His paintings are positioned at the intersection of realism and imagination, and in portraying the modern industrial landscape of commerce, he recognized that the railroad was a central component," she said.

© 2006 Center for Railroad Photography & Art

This photograph by Ted Rose (Valve Gear and Rods of Pacific #2519, Toluca, Mexico, 1960) will be in an exhibition at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

A lead gift from John A. Mellowes, chairman and CEO of Charter Manufacturing (Mequon, Wisconsin), made the exhibition possible. Its companies operate steelmaking, rolling, processing, and forming facilities in Wisconsin and Ohio. Kalmbach Publishing Company, publisher of Trains and Classic Trains, joined as a major donor. In addition, gifts have come from 135 patrons. The Center is seeking additional support for the full program.

Working with Polly Rose and Ted Rose Studio (Santa Fe, New Mexico), Lake Forest College Special Collections Department (Lake Forest, Illinois), and the Haggerty Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin), the Center organized the program to exhibit, conserve, and publish these photographs. The Center and the Special Collections Department are cataloging and preserving the collection of more than a thousand pieces, in accord with Rose's wishes. In addition, a substantial hardbound book of Rose's photographs is planned, aimed at a large audience.

Rose was born and raised in Milwaukee. During the summers of high school and college he worked at Kalmbach Publishing Company when its offices were in downtown Milwaukee. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a BFA in painting (honors) and minors in printmaking and history in 1962. After serving in the U.S. Army, 1963-65, including one Viet Nam tour, he returned to Kalmbach for a few months. He also worked for the Chicago & North Western as a night brakeman. In 1965, lured by the mystique of the Denver & Rio Grande Western, he moved to Chama, New Mexico, and then settled in Santa Fe in 1966. It was in Santa Fe that he met and married Polly. Their son Jesse and daughter Molly both inherited their father's creativity.

During his years in Santa Fe, Rose was a successful graphic designer. He designed the logos and paint scheme for the Santa Fe Southern Railway in 1993. In 2001 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Northern New Mexico Advertising Federation.

What is less known is that Ted Rose was also a remarkable photographer. His early creativity found expression through the camera. As a young man between 1956 and 1962, he followed trains and rode the rails in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala. His stunning, mostly black-and-white photographs taken during these journeys capture the last days of active steam railroading in America. Their quality also hints at an artistic impulse that was expressed several years later in his painting.

In 1983, after a 20-year hiatus, Rose returned to his love of painting. He quickly became well known for his work in watercolors. A full-time painter, he was awarded signature memberships in the prestigious American Watercolor Society (1993) and the National Watercolor Society (1999). On a national level, he created five paintings in 1999 for the U.S. Postal Service's "All Aboard" stamp series and three Amtrak calendars (1997, 1998, and 1999) plus an illustration for Amtrak's on-board magazine.

Ted Rose died of cancer in 2002. The world lost a prolific artist who painted more than 1,000 paintings in less than 20 years. He continued painting right up to his final illness. Obituaries ran across the country, from the Washington Post to the Los Angeles Times.

Rose's photographs in concert with his paintings demonstrate that the painter was also a photographer. He perceived a vibrant world both through the camera and on canvas. This collection is a tribute to creative efforts made throughout his life.

Rose's photography remains largely unknown. He presented the photos only twice locally in Santa Fe in the 1970s. Artists Georgia O'Keeffe, Laura Gilpin, and Otto Kuhler were among the guests at the first exhibit's opening.

The Center asks for financial support for the Ted Rose Memorial Program. All gifts (PDF, 160KB) are earmarked specifically for the Rose program, will be acknowledged publicly, and are tax-deductible. Major donors also receive appropriate mention in news releases. The program in its entirety is a fitting tribute to a gifted artist whose career was cut tragically short.

David Mattoon shows the work he is doing at Lake Forest College to catalog and conserve the photographs of Ted Rose. Mattoon has written a character-recognition program specific to this collection, to be able to match up images among thumbnails on 3 by 5 cards, prints and negatives. In addition, he is putting the negatives into acid-free sleeves. Photo by Amit Shrestha

Highlights

Ted Rose Memorial Progam