10/02/2011

Issued by National Railway Museum

Art lovers will be able to enjoy previously unseen works of art thanks to an exciting new gallery opening at the National Railway Museum in York this summer.

Funded by The Foundation for Sport and the Arts, the brand new purpose-built exhibition space will host an exciting programme of temporary exhibitions showcasing the Museum's unseen art collection alongside railway-inspired works of art from across the world. The National Railway Museum's vast art collection comprises of 11,222 Posters, 2,358 Prints and Drawings, 1052 Paintings and 1,500,000 Photographs, many of which have never been on public display.

To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the arrival of the Japanese Bullet train, the Shinkansen, at the NRM, the first headline exhibition with the working title ‘Japanese Railway Prints of the 1870s' will showcase Japanese Meiji era woodcuts. Loaned from The Modern Transport Museum in Osaka, these stunning prints reflect the period of ‘railway mania' which surrounded the opening of the first Japanese railway line between the administrative capital of Edo (Tokyo) and the port of Yokohama.

In the 19th century the woodblock print industry was a way of producing inexpensive, multi-colour prints for a mass audience. In the 1870s the Japanese public were swept away by the glamour of the railway, with thousands viewing the inaugural ceremonies during which the young Emperor himself rode on the train. It was a symbol of a bold new era for Japan, as previously the Emperor had lived a closeted life hidden away in Kyoto, now the fifteen year old who came to the throne in 1868 was a figurehead for a new modern state based in the trade capital of Edo (Tokyo).

Exhibition Organiser Ellen Tait said:

"As these prints were the 19th century equivalent of a cheap and cheerful chain store purchase, not many have survived to the modern day, making a collection like this incredibly rare.  What is fascinating for many art lovers to discover is that the artists producing these railway scenes had never seen a train before - the prints portray engines and carriages with varying degrees of accuracy.  Figures in Western dress on the trains or watching them go by remind us that at this time Japan was embracing its trade links with the West at a whole new level."

Upcoming free exhibitions for the NRM art gallery include ‘The Art of Advertising', an Autumn showcase of posters and paintings commissioned by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company (LMS) in 1924 from 16 Royal Academy artists. Forming part of the Art in Yorkshire supported by Tate project, the exhibition draws on loans from the Tate and other Yorkshire collections.

‘Japanese Railway Prints of the 1870s' opens in Summer 2011. Visit http://www.nrm.org.uk/ for exact opening dates for this and further exhibitions. Admission is free.

ENDS