While artist Grif Teller never officially worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad, he is more closely associated with the once-colossal transportation machine than any of its 14 presidents, writes Dan Cupper for Pennsylvania Heritage.
Teller created numerous distinctive oil paintings for the Philadelphia-based railroad’s annual advertising calendars from 1928 to 1942 and from 1947 through 1958. The calendars were made by the hundreds of thousands and distributed all around the globe.
His scenes provide a glimpse of the once most influential of all American railroad at the height of its power and importance. The Pennsylvania Railroad was a transportation giant that once employed one out of every 10 United States railroad workers. It dominated Pennsylvania’s economy and political life to an unseen degree.
Teller depicted its trains in settings along the main lines. Some of his most popular works include paintings made at the Rockville Bridge, where the railroad crossed the Susquehanna River, and at Horseshoe Curve.
His works, which are marked by evolving styles from impressionism to realism, are treasured by railroad enthusiasts to this day.
Read more about Grif Teller and his oil paintings in Pennsylvania Heritage.
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