Monthly Archives: July 2011

Rolling Power (art)

This is a post about art and trains and about an American artist called Charles Sheeler. Charles Sheeler was an artist and photographer who worked in the 1930s. He embraced the industrial landscape of North America as a legitimate and, … Continue reading

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Big Wheels Keep on Turning

This is a post about a small book about big engines. There are thousands of books about railways; but most of them aren’t as nicely designed as this. Patrick Stirling’s Locomotives, by LTC Holt, was published by Hamish Hamilton in … Continue reading

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London Midland and Scottish (LMS)

This is a post about the LMS Royal Scot class of steam locomotive. These are the engines that pulled the trains up the west coast route to Scotland. The print is from the 1930s. Here’s a scale model of this … Continue reading

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Coldstream Guards Van (art)

This is another post about art and trains. This is a painting by the British artist William Coldstream. It shows St Pancras Station, London, from 1937. Coldstream is an interesting artist for a number of reasons… He was a founder … Continue reading

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Turner and Trains (art)

This is a post about JMW Turner, probably Britain’s greatest artist (of the 19C anyway), and trains. This is a picture that was painted at Maidenhead, where IK Brunel’s Great Western Railway crosses the Thames. The picture was exhibited at … Continue reading

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Hornby World (Margate)

This is a post about model trains and a trip to Margate. We were driving over to Broadstairs on the Kent coast to have a cup of tea with Graham Ward at his Festival Cafe. On the way, we stopped … Continue reading

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Edward Bawden

This is a post about the English illustrator, Edward Bawden, and the poster for the Ealing film comedy, The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953). It’s also a post about films (culture) and politics in Britain after WW2. As you can see from … Continue reading

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Magritte and Modernity

This is a shameless plug for my appearance on BBC Breakfast TV; speaking about Magritte and advertising. There’s a big Magritte show at Tate Liverpool over the summer. You can see an e-presentation of it, here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14010806 I’m on right … Continue reading

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Cow Catching – Keaton and Babbage and the War Machine

This will be a post about Buster Keaton, Charles Babbage, war, silent cinema, and the machine; oh, and the railway! I’ll build it all up over a few days. The image is from Buster Keaton’s film The General (1926). Orson … Continue reading

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