10: BEN DEDEK PAINTING OF NEW YORK CENTRAL LOCOMOTIVE 4036

Benjamin J. Dedek (1896-1973)
New York Central Lightning Stripe Locomotive (1952)
This very handsome and highly detailed painting of General Motors E8 number 4036 on a stretch of tracks through rolling countryside is executed in tempera and watercolor with skillfully applied airbrush highlights on Hi-Art artist's board and signed by the artist lower left.

New York Central locomotive 4036 was built in 1952 and decorated with the railroad's famous 'lightning stripe' paint scheme. Despite lacking in color (except for the nose emblem), the distinctive zig-zag shape of the stripes became an icon for the railroad for many years. When other railroads were painting their streamlined passenger trains in bright colors in the 1930s, the Central decided that its famous train, the 20th Century Limited, was distinguished enough that it only needed to be painted in two-tone grey. Initially, the streamlined 20th Century was powered by a streamlined steam locomotive, but when the railroad Dieselized the train in 1945, it applied lightning stripes to the E7 locomotives to match the two-tone grey passenger cars, probably because the portholes on the locomotives are slightly higher than the windows of the passenger cars. The E8 in this painting is the successor to those locomotives.
Sight size through the mat is 13.25 x 20.25, measures 20 x 27 inches overall.
Very good original untouched condition. There are no issues of major stain, scratches, losses, repairs, in-painting or touch-up. There is a minor rub or area of residue on the nose just above the logo.
Provenance: The Fred Roniger Estate Collection.
$500 - $5,000