Top of page
Posted by: Lara Szypszak
It might seem obvious that traffic control development paralleled the growing use of automobiles. Especially after World War I, an increase in traffic created a need for more systematic signals. The first traffic light in the United States was installed in 1914 in Cleveland and the first interconnected signal system was introduced in Salt Lake …
Posted in: Photographs
Posted by: Lara Szypszak
The following is the fifth in a series of guest posts by Micah Messenheimer, Associate Curator of Photography, Prints and Photographs Division, that discuss the parallel development of two technologies in the 19th century: railroads and photography. Capturing the entirety of the Central Pacific Railroad from 1864–69, photographer Alfred Hart (1816–1908) traveled east from Sacramento, …
Posted in: Photographs, Series: Camera and Locomotive
Posted by: Lara Szypszak
Whenever I leave the urban landscape and go out driving in the country, certain things tend to catch my eye. One particular scene that always makes my head turn is a red barn on a hillside. The pop of color often draws me in. I have always wondered, though: Why red? It turns out, the …
Posted in: Photographs, Posters
Posted by: Lara Szypszak
Did you hear? April 30 is International Jazz Day! So I thought I’d search the Prints and Photographs collections to get an idea of what we have to represent the celebrated music genre- that thing we call jazz! The cartoon drawing below epitomizes the exuberance and dynamic feeling of the music! There are many gems …
Posted in: Drawings, Photographs
Posted by: Lara Szypszak
There is a well-known quote by Pablo Picasso, which goes like this: Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. Perhaps these words appeal to me because they touch on the delightful imagination a child possesses, and how freely that creativity is expressed through art with …
Posted in: Photographs, Posters