Starrucca Viaduct, Pennsylvania

Location
Lanesboro, Pennsylvania, USA
Date
1865
Materials
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
56.8 x 92.4 cm
Credit
Toledo Museum of Art, purchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest, in memory of her father Maurice A. Scott
Accession number
1947.58
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Starrucca Viaduct, Pennsylvania harmonizes the advance of civilization with the picturesque landscape of the Susquehanna River Valley above Lanesboro, Pennsylvania. The distant train traverses the Starrucca Viaduct, an engineering marvel that was part of a larger expansion of the nation’s railroad networks. Cropsey has depicted an idealized vision of the modernizing landscape, as technological feats of engineering fueled exploration and industrialization while also encouraging and facilitating its aesthetic appreciation.