Train in Coal Town – Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

Born in Silver Creek, Pennsylvania, in 1910 Jack Savatsky was well known for his bright and colorful depictions of life in and around the hard-coal regions of Lansford, Pennsylvania. He drew with a variety of materials and painted in oils on all kinds of surfaces (in this case on fiberboard). Many folk artists get their start late in life as a way to keep themselves occupied after retirement. They bring rich memories and personal views of the world to their subjects. In this painting, Savitsky shows a train bringing workers to the mines of Silver Creek, the "coal town" in Pennsylvania where he grew up. He worked in the mines for more than thirty-five years before health issues forced him to retire in 1959. He died in Coaldale, Pennsylvania in1991.