Essay by Thomas Bengtson, Professor of Mathematics, Earl H. Beling Chair in Mathematics

The Railway Station depicts the hustle and bustle of the newly emerging upper middle class in England, a country that was at that time arguably the richest and most powerful country in the world. The railway itself was a symbol of the rising prosperity of the nation.

The Paddington railway station, originally the London terminus of the Great Western Railway, was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his associate Matthew Dingy Wyatt and built in 1854. The glazed roof, supported by wrought iron architecture, created vast interior spaces but still let in abundant natural light. The same techniques had recently been pioneered by architect Joseph Paxton and proved successful in the design and construction of the Crystal Palace, which housed the Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park, London.

The image was a collaborative effort designed from the start to make money. Art dealer Louis Victor Flatow (depicted in the picture as a small figure chatting with the conductor of the train) commissioned the oil painting and paid Frith then the stunning sum of about £9,000. Frith in turn commissioned Samuel Fry to take photographs of the interior of the station to ensure an accurate rendition, and William Scott Morton was taken on to paint the architectural structural details. A year later Flatow sold the painting and the rights to make prints for more than £16,300. In the meantime over 20,000 people paid a shilling each to see the painting. Francis Holl made a steel engraving and Henry Graves sold the prints. The confluence of the art world and entrepreneurship was a success.

The commotion of over one-hundred figures fills the lower half of the scene. As the people go about their lives, some with tearful goodbyes and others looking forward to seeing family and friends again, they seemingly ignore the very technology that makes their enriched society possible. Frith, however, placed a small boy in the center, gazing upward in awe and wonder, perhaps to remind us all to take a moment and appreciate the bigger picture.