FRED LUDEKENS (1900 1982) SOUTHERN PACIFICS STREAMLINED DAY

Sale 2621 - Lot 137

Unsold

Estimate: $ 1,200 - $ 1,800

FRED LUDEKENS (1900-1982)

SOUTHERN PACIFIC'S STREAMLINED DAYLIGHT LOS ANGELES - SAN FRANCISCO. 1937.

20 1/4x41 1/2 inches, 51 1/2x105 1/2 cm.
Condition B+: losses, small stains and staple holes along left margin; minor water stains in margins; abrasions along vertical folds; hand-signed by the artist.

In the 1930s, "streamlined trains were among the most striking, visible and accessible examples of Modernism" in America (Zega p. 104). "The streamliner was perfectly suited to the poster medium; its smooth airflow profile offered the prospect of a respite from America's stylistic preoccupation with realism" (ibid). The GS-2 locomotive (pictured here) was put into service in 1937; it was the first of its kind to bear the iconic red and orange color scheme. Trains, pulling 12 Pullman-Standard cars each, would leave Los Angeles and San Francisco at 8:15am every morning and arrive at their destinations simultaneously at 6pm. Pictured is engine #4410, the first GS-2 locomotive built for Southern Pacific.

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Additional Details

From the collection of Victor Ryerson.