The nation’s favourite railway painting

Train Landscape by Eric Ravilious, 1940, Aberdeen City Council (Archives, Gallery & Museums collection) 

Aberdeen Art Gallery is the home of the nation’s favourite railway painting!

Train Landscape by Eric Ravilious has been named as the world’s best-loved railway artwork in the UK, following a global poll held to mark the 200th anniversary of the modern railway. The announcement of the winning artwork was made earlier this week by Art UK and Railway 200, to coincide with the birthday of rail pioneer George Stephenson.

Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) painted this watercolour in 1940. Ravilious had planned to publish a book illustrating the chalk figures of the south coast and made several watercolours of them. Sadly, the project never came to fruition as his life was cut cruelly short during service as an Official War Artist.

Ravilious spent a day travelling up and down the Eastbourne to Lewes railway line, painting the interior of the railway carriage with the landscape figures viewed through the window. He shows his expertise in capturing the ‘feel’ of an item; from the scratchy upholstery, to the leather window strap and the Westbury Horse on the hill.

Conservation of Train Landscape uncovered an entirely different landscape, featuring the Wilmington Giant and collage overlays on the seat upholstery, previously a brown stripe fabric. His artist wife Tirzah Garwood wrote that Ravilious had made two train landscape watercolours that he was dissatisfied with. She had cut and pasted the best parts of both, to make a whole new composition.

Art lovers and rail enthusiasts can now enjoy an online exhibition of the 20 most popular railway paintings on the Art UK website at www.artuk.org

From our collection to yours! You can own your own version of the nation’s favourite railway artwork. Prints are available to buy from the Art UK website, framed or unframed, with a selection of sizes and finishes to choose from. 

See Train Landscape on display in Gallery 7 at Aberdeen Art Gallery – open daily and admission is free. We look forward to welcoming you!