HERNANDO GONZALLO VILLA (1881-1952)

"The Chief: Fastest Train to Chicago, Kansas City." Poster maquette, study for the Amtrak poster of the same title, circa 1945. Mixed media including gouache, tempera, and glaze, on board. 39½x29½ inches; 1000x750 mm; framed. Signed "Hernando G. Villa" lower left.The recto shows reworking in the text area. While this image displays the title text, the printed version of the poster read "The Chief is still Chief - fastest and only extra fare train to Southern California." It was not uncommon for artists to repaint the text on the original artwork to suit the client's various ad campaign materials. "The Chief" express train ran from Chicago to Los Angeles on the Santa Fe line. "Villa treated Native Americans with a respect that approached reverence and sought to dispel the stereotypical attitude that they all looked alike." (Travel by Train: The American Railroad Poster, 1870-1950, by Michael Zega and John E. Gruber (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002), page 77.