Visions and Visionaries: The Art and Artists of the Santa Fe Railway [SOLD]

VISIONS & VISIONARIES The Art & Artists of the Santa Fe Railway

Sandra d’Emilio and Suzan Campbell

Gibbs-Smith Publisher

Hardback with slip cover, first edition, 1991, 147 pages, beautifully illustrated with color paintings and black and white photographs.  Excellent condition

“With the rise of train travel from the latter 1880s through the 1920s, artists flocked to the Grand Canyon and to the pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona to paint unusual landscapes and exotic Indians.

“Recognizing that the mystique of the Southwest Indian country might help pull them out of a financial slump, the Santa Fe Railway set out to promote vacation packages that would appeal to the luxury traveler.  As part of the plan and over a number of years, the Santa Fe acquired paintings and used them in a variety of ways. On calendars and lithographs, in hotel lobbies and dining cars, the Santa Fe’s paintings were displayed around the country, planting wanderlust and thirst for adventure in the hearts of would-be tourists.”

Artists included are Thomas Moran, Louis Akin, Lon Megargee, “Buck” Dunton, Frank Sauerwein, E. A. Burbank, E. Irving Couse, Ernest Blumenschein, Oscar Berninghaus, W. R. Leigh, J. J. Mora, Bert Geer Phillips,  Gerald Cassidy, E. Martin Hennings, Victor Higgins, and many others.