GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Capturing the moment that the train begins its plummet, John McCrady's print of the Wreck of the Old 97 portends the catastrophic demise of a mail train near Danville, Virginia on September 27, 1903. The thick, ominous clouds echo the smoke pouring from the train as it derails from the trestle bridge. Darkness is broken by the bright headlight of the train and the strong moonlight which outlines the silhouettes of the trees that line the track. The lone central figure possibly represents engineer Joseph A. Broady who was operating the train. As the speeding train derailed, the trestle bridge partially collapsed, and most of the men on board perished.
Jennie Russell, Digital Collections Content Coordinator, 2018.
Adapted from
"Nine Fell to Death." Washington Post, September 28, 1903.
NOTES
n.d. Changed search dates in TMS to artist's life dates.
Object File Reviewed
Checked Piction
"Without the slightest idea of what I wanted to paint," says McCrady, "I went to the Art Students League. I painted people but they were just people and there was no reason for them. I drew pictures of New York: subways, burlesque shows, dirty waterfronts, vulgar people - everything other students were doing. But I found no pleasure in it; I began to feel I'd made a mistake to think 1'd ever be an artist." Then he nostalgically remembered the Mississippi country in which he grew up and for the first time he began to paint that which he knew. He returned home, set up a studio in old New Orleans and there today he paints his scenes of the Deep South. McCrady believes that "man has no world to paint but his own."
From Famous American Paintings assembled for the state fair of TX 1948, exh cat from Piction
McCrady, John (American, 1911-1968)
Cultures
Geography
Depicted location: Danville (Virginia/United States): TGN: 7014729
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From 1948: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas Art Association Purchase [1]
[1] The Dallas Art Association is the predecessor to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name was abandoned in 1970. Works from this collection were transferred to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco~View another print of this scene by regionalist artist Thomas Hart Benton.
- YouTube~Listen to a version of the ballad "Wreck of the Old 97" by Vernon Dalhart from 1924.
- YouTube~Listen to a version of the ballad "Wreck of the Old 97" by Johnny Cash from 1957.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- The 1924 Vernon Dalhart recording of the song "Wreck of the Old 97" was the B-side track of the first country music record to sell over a million copies. The A-side was titled "The Prisoner's Song."
- The inspiration for the name of Dallas band the Old 97's came from Johnny Cash's cover of the song "The Wreck of the Old 97."
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1948.6
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
Capturing the moment that the train begins its plummet, John McCrady's print of the Wreck of the Old 97 portends the catastrophic demise of a mail train near Danville, Virginia on September 27, 1903. The thick, ominous clouds echo the smoke pouring from the train as it derails from the trestle bridge. Darkness is broken by the bright headlight of the train and the strong moonlight which outlines the silhouettes of the trees that line the track. The lone central figure possibly represents engineer Joseph A. Broady who was operating the train. As the speeding train derailed, the trestle bridge partially collapsed, and most of the men on board perished.
Jennie Russell, Digital Collections Content Coordinator, 2018.
Adapted from
"Nine Fell to Death." Washington Post, September 28, 1903.
Fun Facts
- The 1924 Vernon Dalhart recording of the song "Wreck of the Old 97" was the B-side track of the first country music record to sell over a million copies. The A-side was titled "The Prisoner's Song."
- The inspiration for the name of Dallas band the Old 97's came from Johnny Cash's cover of the song "The Wreck of the Old 97."
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco~View another print of this scene by regionalist artist Thomas Hart Benton.
- YouTube~Listen to a version of the ballad "Wreck of the Old 97" by Vernon Dalhart from 1924.
- YouTube~Listen to a version of the ballad "Wreck of the Old 97" by Johnny Cash from 1957.
Notes
n.d. Changed search dates in TMS to artist's life dates.
Object File Reviewed
Checked Piction
"Without the slightest idea of what I wanted to paint," says McCrady, "I went to the Art Students League. I painted people but they were just people and there was no reason for them. I drew pictures of New York: subways, burlesque shows, dirty waterfronts, vulgar people - everything other students were doing. But I found no pleasure in it; I began to feel I'd made a mistake to think 1'd ever be an artist." Then he nostalgically remembered the Mississippi country in which he grew up and for the first time he began to paint that which he knew. He returned home, set up a studio in old New Orleans and there today he paints his scenes of the Deep South. McCrady believes that "man has no world to paint but his own."
From Famous American Paintings assembled for the state fair of TX 1948, exh cat from Piction
McCrady, John (American, 1911-1968)
Cultures
Geography
Depicted location: Danville (Virginia/United States): TGN: 7014729
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From 1948: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas Art Association Purchase [1]
[1] The Dallas Art Association is the predecessor to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name was abandoned in 1970. Works from this collection were transferred to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1948.6
source file
object_notes_3_a-0484.xml.nores