Chicago and Northwestern Railroad fleet locomotives Jack Delano

One of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad's "400" fleet of locomotives lined up for coal and water at a coaling station. Chicago, Illinois

Photographer: Jack Delano
Date: December 1942

About Jack Delano:

Delano was born as Jacob Ovcharov in Voroshilovka, 120 miles southwest of Kiev, Ukraine and moved, with his parents and younger brother, to the United States in 1923. Between 1924 and 1932 he studied graphic arts and photography and music at the Settlement Music School and solfeggio with a professor from the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

After being awarded an art scholarship for his talents, he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) where from 1928 until 1932 he studied illustration and continued his musical training. While there Delano was awarded the Kesson traveling fellowship which he took to Europe where he bought a camera that got him interested in photography.

Jack Delano was Russian-born photographer who lived from August 1, 1914 to August 12, 1997. Delano moved to the United States during the Great Depression, when he began taking photographs for the Farm Security Administration. In addition to his FSA work Delano is known for the striking color photographs he took at rail yards during the 1940s.