A painting stored at Aberdeen Art Gallery has been named as the world’s best-loved railway artwork in the UK, following a global poll held to mark the 200th anniversary of the modern railway.
‘Train Landscape’ by artist Eric Ravilious was named as the favourite painting during an event on Monday which coincided with the birthday of rail pioneer George Stephenson.
The watercolour was painted in 1940 and shows the chalk white horse of Westbury, Wiltshire, viewed through the window of a third-class train carriage.
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Tirzah Garwood, the wife of Eric Ravilious, made the collage using elements from different watercolours Ravilious painted whilst travelling on trains.
The second most popular artwork was the evocative ‘Rain, Steam and Speed’ by J.M.W Turner (1775-1851) and the third most popular choice was ‘Service by Night’ by David Shepherd (1931-2017).
It has now been placed on public display, and art lovers and rail enthusiasts can now enjoy a curated exhibition of the 20 most popular paintings on the Art UK website until 31 December 2025.
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Ella Ravilious, granddaughter of Eric Ravilious, said: “I’m thrilled that Train Landscape has been voted best-loved railway artwork, as it captures travel through the British landscape in a third-class carriage in the late 1930s.
“This painting by my grandfather, Eric Ravilious, was created with the assistance of my grandmother, Tirzah Garwood. Eric rode back and forth on the train, making several watercolours, none of which he was totally happy with.
“Tirzah collaged the best bits of each painting together to create a successful picture. Train lovers might notice that the chalk figure visible from the train window should be the Long Man of Wilmington rather than the Westbury Horse because it was painted on the Brighton to Eastbourne line.”
Councillor Martin Greig, Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokesman, added: “It’s a tremendous source of pride for all of us here in Aberdeen that the public vote has recognised Train Landscape in this way – to steam into first place ahead of a painting by JMW Turner is really quite something.
“On a personal level, this painting has been a favourite of mine since childhood. It’s just one of the many outstanding treasures visitors to Aberdeen Art Gallery can enjoy free of charge, seven days a week.
“Art UK does a wonderful job of sharing the country’s public collections online, and we hope that this news will encourage people to travel to Aberdeen to experience Train Landscape in real life, along with all the other outstanding works on display at Aberdeen Art Gallery – just a short walk from the train station!”
Alan Hyde from Railway 200 commented: “Like the amazing artworks, this competition has captured the imagination of people around the world, highlighting an enduring connection between art and the railway.
“We hope that art lovers, rail enthusiasts and others will enjoy the Railway 200 exhibition on the Art UK website, and travel by train to enjoy these wonderful railway-inspired paintings at first hand during rail’s bicentenary.”
Andrew Ellis, Chief Executive of Art UK, said: “Art UK is delighted to have partnered with Railway 200 to connect the public to a truly wonderful selection of railway-inspired artworks held in collections across the UK.
“This masterful evocation of a sighting of the Westbury White Horse from a railway carriage by Eric Ravilious is an extremely worthy winner that also throws a spotlight on the rich art collection of Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museum.
“We are thrilled that the work will now be on display and we encourage everyone to make the train journey to Scotland and see it.”
In a two-stage public vote, a longlist of 200 railway artworks, chosen by Art UK and its museum partners, was whittled down to a shortlist of 20 paintings on World Art Day before the outright winner was selected.
More than 6,500 votes were cast, including from the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The longlist was selected from 94 public collections across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and included works dating from the 1830s to the twenty-first century.
Railway 200 explores how a British invention changed the world forever and how the railway continues to shape our lives and livelihoods, presenting a constant source of inspiration to artists.
The bicentenary commemorates the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) in 1825 when George Stephenson drove Locomotion No.1 26 miles between Shildon, Darlington and Stockton in the North East of England.
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