Press

ALBANY, N.Y. - O. Winston Link's passion for trains was so strong, he made photographing them his life's work. The largest exhibit to showcase that zeal, Trains that Passed in the Night: The Railroad Photographs of O. Winston Link, stops at the New York State Museum from January 11 to March 12, 2000.

The Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden, University of Nebraska organized the exhibition of about 75 works. Thomas Garver, who served as Link's studio assistant in the 1950s, curated Trains that Passed in the Night. Garver is scheduled to speak about his experiences with Link at 1:30 p.m., Jan. 15, at the State Museum.

Since his childhood, Link loved railroads, particularly steam locomotives. He made many trips from his home in Brooklyn to the rail yards in New Jersey to watch and photograph the trains. During World War II, while engaged in a classified military research project, Link's research laboratory abutted the tracks of the Long Island Railroad and he began to photograph the trains that passed to and from New York City. After the war, he became an independent freelance photographer. He became known as one of the country's best industrial photographers and was particularly sought after when the subject posed difficult lighting situations.

In 1955, on a trip to Virginia, Link first saw the great steam engines of the Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W). At the time, the N&W was the last mainline American railroad to operate exclusively with steam power. Link made a few test photos of the arrival of a passenger train at night, using a synchronized flash. The results were so good that he quickly formulated the idea of documenting the railroad at night with a synchronized flash to be able to emphasize the important elements of the picture, while eliminating distracting details.

He approached N&W and was allowed to begin a five-year project photographing the steam locomotives until just weeks before the N&W terminated all steam operations.

Link's style and methodology were completely counter to the prevailing photographic style of the time. However, Link's railroad photographs did not receive recognition until the late 1970s and were not exhibited in a museum until 1983, almost 30 years after they were created.

Since then, there has been an increasing recognition of Link's vision and endeavor. His photographs of the N&W are now seen and appreciated as more than documents of an antique technology. They are remarkable records of a vanishing culture as well. Not only are his photos included in many museum and private collections, they are reproduced in a number of standard anthologies of 20th century photography.

Trains that Passed in the Night is part of a national tour. Following Albany, the exhibit heads to the Sordoni Art Gallery in Wilkes-Barre, Penn.

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