Theodore Svenningsen — Chicago & North Western Caboose No. 15511 in Snow, Oil on Canvas

Oil on canvas by Los Angeles-based conceptual artist Theodore Svenningsen, depicting Chicago & North Western Railway caboose No. 15511 alone on the tracks in heavy snowfall. The oxblood-red car is centered in the composition against a brooding grey-green sky, the CNW herald and car number rendered with precise legibility. Snow is built up as scattered impasto white across the full canvas surface, and the exposed linen weave plays an active role throughout — giving the sky, ground, and car body a raw, weathered texture that amplifies the isolation of the subject. Signed lower left on the car body, “Svenningsen.” Presented in a thin black floating wood frame without glass.

Artwork Details

• Medium: Original oil on stretched canvas
• Subject: Chicago & North Western Railway caboose No. 15511 in snowstorm
• Railroad: Chicago & North Western Railway (CNW)
• Signature: “Svenningsen,” lower left on car body
• Frame: Thin black floating wood frame, no glass
• Overall: 30.5” H × 30.5” W × 1⅜” D
• Visible (canvas): 30” H × 30” W

CONDITION Good. Paint layer is intact with no visible cracking or cleavage across the face. Frame shows scuffing at points consistent with normal handling, as shown in images.

ABOUT THE ARTIST — Theodore Svenningsen Theodore Svenningsen is a Los Angeles-based painter and conceptual artist with a practice rooted in both fine art and philosophy. He holds a B.A. and Master’s degree in philosophy from UCLA — graduating cum laude and advancing to doctoral candidacy — and an M.F.A. in painting from Otis College of Art and Design.

His work has been exhibited at the New Museum of Contemporary Art and The Drawing Center in New York, Artists Space, and the University Art Museum at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art in China, among others. Solo and featured exhibitions include “Primitive Structures” at the Torrance Art Museum and shows at Wonzimer Gallery and Transport Gallery in Los Angeles.

His work is held in museum and corporate collections including the Museum of Modern Art Artists Book Collection (New York), the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the University of Iowa Special Collections, and — of particular note given the subject of this painting — the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Corporate Collection (Seattle). Additional corporate holdings include Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Guarantee Trust, and Prudential Insurance Company of America.