Living in an age of rapid change, it is important to be reminded that technological advance has spurred response for generations, and even centuries. A new exhibition at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City focuses attention on artistic response to the steam engine. As they note, "No industrial development has had such a sudden and transforming effect as the steam engine." The story is told in six sections,from the Formative Years in Europe to the Machine Age. A great number of works are up online for those that don’t find time to travel to the land of amazing jazz and bbq.
Art in the Age of Steam: Europe, America and the Railroad, 1830-1960 will remain on view until January 18, 2009.
