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First, it may help to know a little history of how the small black & white image of the 2nd Fogg painting came to be on this web site a couple years before the actual painting resurfaced... Charles E. Dare, an avid fan of Fogg's work, related this story of the search for this elusive painting. The story begins around the year 2000... "I found the lead on this picture in a book entitled "Howard Fogg and the Diesel Image" by John J. Scala. On page five of this book, opposite the Fogg painting of the 1947 Freedom Train leaving Washington DC, this second Fogg painiting is mentioned, and the details of its content are given. I know a lot about Howard Fogg's work and I had never heard of this painting previously, I even contacted Howard Fogg's son, Richard, and he knew nothing about it either. "I wrote to John J. Scala and asked about the painting and its whereabouts. He very graciously supplied me with a scan of his black and white Fogg of this item (that was all he had was a black & white image). I circulated this black and white 2nd Fogg Freedom Train image to the Freedom Train group with no response. I also sent it to George Barker." George sent copies to people he thought could help, including the editor of this site. From there the story picks up with the Taylor family... The following is the story of the painting's rediscovery by the Taylor family -- Larry and his wife Johnnie, their late son John Larry, and Johnnie's mother. As told by Mr. Larry Taylor in 2003... As
I sit in my kitchen, I have looked directly
at a part of American history and not understood. We have a painting
that we thought was a depiction of the 1976 "Bicentennial Train"
that we had seen during the celebration of our 200th anniversary. |
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We had acquired this painting around 1979 or 1980 from Johnnie's mother. We think that she obtained it from a collection of a "train collector" in Newport, Arkansas. She also had a coal-burner depot stove (with the box) that is considered important by train collectors. However, we are not sure of the circumstances of how she obtained the painting. During the Bicentennial year, our family was interested in the train that was developed to commemorate that occasion. Our son was 7 years old and was just the right age for an interest in the train. It came to North Little Rock and we again saw it in Philadelphia in 1976. John Larry snapped pictures of it and showed them around. His grandmother knew of his interest in the red, white and blue train and gave him what she thought was a "picture" of the train. This was in late 1979 or early 1980 and we assumed (incorrectly) that this was the Bicentennial train. We hung the painting in our house on a wall where it simply became a part of our daily experience. Johnnie had always thought that it might have some value, but we could never find any references to it She had visited the Internet years ago and found nothing about it. We sometimes wondered about it, but never really set forth to research it in any serious way. On Tuesday, April 8, 2003, we were watching the movie "Legal Eagles" featuring Robert Redford, Debra Winger, and Daryl Hanna. Johnnie noticed "our" painting on a wall near the doorway of Redford's apartment. With a second chance at seeing the image, I too saw the train print. However, when I stepped into view of ours, I saw that the train was on the right side in the movie version and on the left in ours. Foiled again. Johnnie then goes to the Internet. We had recently obtained DSL and this high speed connection allows much quicker downloads of pictures. She found the "Museum of America's Freedom Trains" In one of their screens, there is a presentation of the Howard Fogg art and a brief story of the two paintings that were commissioned by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). The site displayed the well-known Fogg painting of the train by the Washington Monument. It also showed a B&W depiction of the other painting. It explained that the whereabouts of the second painting were unknown and that it had not been reproduced. We then understood why we could never find a picture of our item. The site also asked that anyone with information regarding the second painting should contact the museum. They had a "click" access and Johnnie sent them a brief email. The actual website that actually got this all together is: http://www.freedomtrain.org/html/m_ft_howard_fogg.htm Todd Schannuth is the volunteer Webmaster of the site and he responded in a short order and we established email exchanges. I called him the next day and we both learned about issues that had been confusing. It still took about two days for me to realize that what we had was completely different from what we had thought for more than twenty years. Since these earlier contacts we have learned much more about the 1947-49 Freedom Train and its importance to American History. It was the first train to travel to all 48 States. It was a big promo for diesel in lieu of steam and most importantly it carried some of the most valuable documents of our history. It had an original of the Declaration of Independence, an original of the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the surrender documents of both Japan and Germany. And finally one of the original versions of the Magna Carta. Because of the value of these wonderful works, it was guarded at all times by 27 United States Marines. Some of these guys are active in the museum that is dedicated to the Freedom Train. The second painting apparently hung in the depot of the Chicago and Northwestern's Chicago depot for many years and then was lost. The depot apparently closed and the painting began its migration to Arkansas. This painting is and was when we acquired it, framed, and enclosed in glass. I should have stated earlier that is a watercolor and still is very brilliant in its presentation of color and style. It has a reference label of the C&NW railroad and this clearly implies that it is the item that hung in their depot. It has hung in the same spot at our house for more than 23 years and fortunately has not been exposed to direct sunshine. On Friday, April 11, 2003, I contacted the widow of the artist Howard Fogg and informed her of our discovery of the lost item. Presently, we are working on developing plans to make this wonderful painting available to the public. We understand the involvement of President Truman in this Freedom Train and its importance to American history. Todd hails from Independence, MO -- Harry Truman's home town -- and is working on a film documentary regarding this train. We are much inclined to work with a large institution, perhaps the Truman Presidential Library or the like, and find a place of protection and public access for this work. We look forward to someday bringing this work to the view of those who have been interested in it for many years. Text by Mr. Larry Taylor. |
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