Wreck of the Ol' '97

Thomas Hart Benton found inspiration for his art in the ebb and flow of daily life in rural and small-town America. Wreck of the Ol’ 97, one of his best-known prints, is based on a ballad of the same title that tells the story of a rail disaster. A speeding locomotive attempting to make up lost time jumped the tracks as it descended a Virginia mountain. Eleven people died, including the engineer. “Everybody knows the song, ” Benton commented. “Goin’ down grade at ninety miles an hour, Ol’ 97 hit a broken rail and hell busted loose. This picture shows the moment just before the bust. The song doesn’t say who saw the affair, but somebody must have, and it could just as well have been people like those in the wagon. I put ’em in anyhow.”