By Railfan & Railroad Staff
The Center for Railroad Photography & Art has announced that Peter and Christine Mosse have promised their landmark collection of railroad art to the non-profit dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of railroad imagery. According to the Center, the Mosse collection is “considered one of the world’s largest and finest private collections of rail-related art” and includes close to 250 original works.
Executive Director Scott Lothes and Board Chair Bon French announced the acquisition during the Center’s annual “Conversations” conference at Lake Forest College in Illinois, on April 15. Transfer of the majority of the collection will take place years from now, at a date (or dates) to be determined by the Mosses, although some pieces may arrive sooner.
“With the single addition of the Peter and Christine Mosse Art Collection, we will go from having a modest representation of railroad paintings in our archive to a truly world-class collection,” Lothes said. “We are thrilled and humbled by their generosity and confidence.”
Peter Mosse purchased his first railroad painting around 1980 and today the priceless collection represents a sweeping variety of mediums and styles from artists worldwide. The earliest painting dates from 1843 and the most recent is dated 2022. The collection was spotlighted in Fine Art Connoisseur last summer and featured in the Fall 2015 issue of Railroad Heritage, the CRP&A’s quarterly magazine.
“The 5415” by Grif Teller. Collection of Peter and Christine Mosse.
“The CRP&A impresses me as an exceptional organization,” Mosse said, who has been a member since 2006 and has served on the Center’s board of directors since 2016. “It was the only organization I could think of whose mission aligned with what I was doing.”
Choosing CRP&A was largely influenced by a desire to keep the collection together, he added.
“There are some works that I believe might be of interest to mainstream museums, and others that might be of interest to railroad museums,” Mosse continued, “but breaking up the collection would destroy what I view as one of its key attributes: namely its diversity across time, artistic styles, and countries of origin, unified solely by the subject.”
While the Madison, Wis.-based CRP&A doesn’t have gallery space, Lothes noted that he and the rest of the staff are eagerly considering future traveling exhibitions, which could visit art museums and other venues where the CRP&A could reach new audiences. Digital images of selected works could also be shared online, subject to copyright and the artists’ wishes.
The Center for Railroad Photography & Art was founded in 1997 to preserve and interpret significant images of railroading. It does that through exhibits, publications and conferences. For more information, visit railphoto-art.org.
