Art Gallery: Japan's First Railway

This exhibition is now closed. See the main Art Gallery page for current and upcoming exhibitions.

Our new art gallery space launched this year. It will showcase an exciting programme of temporary exhibitions from our unseen art collection, and artworks from across the world, inspired by the railways.

Our art collection comprises 11,200 posters, 3061 prints and engravings, and 1049 paintings.

Japan's First Railway | Upcoming exhibitions | Further reading

Japan's First Railway: Colour woodblock prints from the 1870s

22 July 2011 - 30 September 2011 (Closed: 24-25 August 2011)
FREE. Station Hall

A rare opportunity to see beautiful Japanese woodblock prints, which show the excitement surrounding the introduction of the railways to Japan. This is the first exhibition in the new Art Gallery, and an unmissable opportunity to see these colourful and fascinating prints, on loan from Japan's Modern Transport Museum, Osaka.

Ceremony and Festival at Shimbashi Station Marking Railway Opening, Hiroshige III (1872) View large
Personages waiting at Shimbashi Station for Train, Hiroshige III (1873) View large
Special Railway guide: Shimbashi Station with Time and Fare Tables, Yoshitora (1872) View large
Train and Wayfares at Takanawa, Kunimasa IV (1873) View large

Images courtesy of Modern Transport Museum, Osaka

Upcoming exhibitions

The Art of Advertising

15 October 2011 - January 2012 (dates subject to change)

Explore the subtle art of advertising in this exhibition of posters commissioned by the London Midland & Scottish Railway Company (LMS) in 1924 from 16 Royal Academicians. More info

For more on our art collection, see the National Railway Museum blog.

Art Gallery funded by The Foundation for Sport and the Arts

Background: Ceremony and Festival at Shimbashi Station Marking Railway Opening, Hiroshige III (1872)