O. Winston Link
Hot Shot Eastbound

ExpandFavorite

Images(2)

Artist O. Winston Link (American, 1914–2001)American, 1914–2001

CultureAmerican

Titles

Hot Shot Eastbound

Date1956

Place depictedIaeger, West Virginia, United States

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsImage: 15 1/2 × 19 1/4 in. (39.4 × 48.9 cm)
Sheet: 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mike and Mickey Marvins

Object number2014.948

Not on view

Explore Further

Department

Photography

Special Collections

Marvins Family Collections

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

DescriptionO. Winston Link is best known for documenting the final years of steam-powered trains on the Norfolk and Western Railway, the last major railroad in America to operate exclusively with steam power. A masterwork in its control of a complicated composition, Link’s picture Hot Shot Eastbound is also a puzzle on how many types of modern transportation the viewer can identify: cars, trucks, trains, and planes. It also alludes to the demise of steam-engine-drawn trains with the growing preference for cars and planes. Perhaps, because he was photographing a drive-in theater’s movie screen, Link was commenting as well on the role of motion pictures in promoting those changes. This photograph required two exposures on separate sheets of film, one for the image on the screen, and the other for the rest of the picture. He then skillfully blended both images in his print.
ProvenanceAuction; purchased by Michael Marvins and Michele Marvins, Houston; given to MFAH, 2014.
Exhibition History“A Photographer’s Collection: Gifts from Michael and Michele Marvins,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, April 4–July 5, 2015.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.