9: BEN DEDEK ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATION OF THE T&P TEXAS EAGLE

Benjamin J. Dedek (1896-1973)
The Texas Eagle E8 Locomotive (1951)
The sharp, detailed and finely executed tempera and airbrush painting of the Texas Eagle barreling through a landscape replete with Texas Bluebonnets is signed by EMD artist Ben Dedek lower left.

Missouri Pacific's first streamlined passenger train, the Eagle, connected St. Louis with Omaha, where passengers could connect with trains to the West Coast. It was painted a distinctive blue with aluminum trim. Later streamlined trains included the Colorado Eagle, Delta Eagle, and Valley Eagle. Texas and Pacific was a Missouri Pacific subsidiary, so its streamliner was the Texas Eagle, which began operating in 1947 using E7 locomotives. The locomotive in this painting, however, is an E8 that was delivered in 1951. Its paint scheme is almost identical to the 1947 E7s, except that the grey pinstripe that separates the blue from the broad aluminum stripe was yellow on the E7.
Sight size through the mat is 13.75 x 20.5, measures 18.5 x 25 inches overall.
Very good original untouched condition. There are no issues of major scratches, losses, repairs, in-painting or touch-up.
Provenance: The Fred Roniger Estate Collection.
$500 - $5,000