Steaming into Impressionism
We chat with Jean-Paul Viaud, curator at the Canadian Railway Museum, to learn how steam travel transformed the way people moved across the map.
Three steam locomotives lead Canadian Pacific Railway excursion near Orangeville, Ontario, May 1960. Credit: CRHA/Exporail, Canadian Pacific Railway Company Fonds
On view now in Gallery 116 on Level 1 of the AGO is Steam: Impressionist Painting Across the Atlantic, an exhibition featuring 20 impressionist paintings by European and Canadian artists including Eugène Boudin, Claude Monet, Mary Hiester Reid and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Together, these works highlight the impact that trans-Atlantic travel in the late 1800s had on artists from France, England and Canada. Steam-powered travel transformed the way artists moved through, and interacted with, the world around them.
As we gear up for next summer’s exhibition Cassatt - McNicoll: Impressionists Between Worlds which spotlights transatlantic travel, we begin to consider how artists were able to sustain and build art careers in urban centres and explore distant places – all at the same time.
Looking to dive further into the overarching theme of the revolution of steam travel, we chatted with Jean-Paul Viaud, curator at the Canadian Railway Museum (also known as Exporail), for a quick history lesson.
AGOinsider: When did steam travel become a widespread mode of transportation in the first place?
Viaud: The adoption of steam power - the first industrial revolution - largely freed land and sea transportation from the uncertainties of nature. It was not long before the steam railroad experienced the same quick rate of adoption that we see today with the Internet, for example. It was in the United Kingdom that the railroad really took off, especially from 1830 with the inauguration of the first commercial railroad between Liverpool and Manchester. Canada inaugurated its first railroad in 1836 on the south shore of Montreal.
AGOinsider: What impact did steam travel have on people, businesses and art?
Viaud: Steam-powered transport (trains and ships) facilitated travel by speeding it up. It was even a revolution in the notion of space-time that contributed to changing customs. Distance was less of an obstacle and laid the foundations for what would become globalization at the end of the 20th century. Going hand in hand with the development of communication means (e.g., telegraphy, telephony), the expansion of the steam railroad favoured the movement of populations, long-distance trade and developed a new source of wealth: tourism! It is not surprising that railroads were the main drivers for the creation of hotel chains. Artists were quickly solicited by the railroads - especially in Canada - to create imagery that highlighted a unique landscape. Today, many of the visual clichésof Canada are, in fact, the result of the railroad industry's patronage of artists.
AGOinsider: Are there any operating steam trains left in Canada?
Viaud: There has been no steam train in regular service since 1960. For a few years during the 1960s, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways offered a few steam train excursions. . Subsequently, several museums such as the Canadian Museum of Science and Technology (now the Ingenium) in Ottawa, as well as historical parks and tourist associations have operated steam tours on short routes. The difficulty of maintaining steam locomotives in good condition has considerably reduced the number of steam train rides available in Canada. Many of the tour operators have replaced their steam locomotives with diesel-electric models or have ceased operations altogether.
It is still possible to experience a steam train ride in Canada:
- South-Simcoe Railway (Ontario)
- The Huntsville & Lake of Bays Railway Society (Ontario)
- Prairie Dog Central Railway (Manitoba)
- Fort Edmonton Park (Alberta)
- Kettle Valley Railway (British Columbia)
- Fort Steele Heritage Town (British Columbia)
- White Pass & Yukon Route Railway (Yukon)
AGOinsider: Are there any prominent artists or photographers that had trains as their primary subjects?
Viaud: In Europe as well as in North America, many artists have produced works on the subject of railroads, either to celebrate them or to mock them, depending on one's prejudice. In fact, there are too many to list in detail. It is enough to know that painters like Honoré Daumier and Claude Monet from France, or Phillip Ralley, William Powell Frith, William Turner in Britain, are among the great names in the history of art. However, the railroad is often only one subject among others for them. The artists who have done most of their work on the theme of the train are fewer. In Canada, Max Jacquiard, Peter Ewart, A.C. Leighton, David A. Oram, are among them.
As for photographers, Oliver Buell - in the 19th century - and Nicolas Morant - in the 20th century, are among the greatest names in railway photography in this country.
Learn more about the history of steam travel by visiting the Archives Centre at Exporail at https://exporail.org/en/the-association/archives-centre/. For more details about Exporail’s Collection, visit https://exporail.org/en/the-association/collection/.
Book your visit now to see Steam: Impressionist Painting Across the Atlantic on Level 1 in Gallery 116 of the AGO. Free for AGO Members, AGO Annual Passholders and visitors 25 and under. For more information, visit https://ago.ca/exhibitions/steam-impressionist-painting-across-atlantic.