The man responsible for the fantastic history of Santa Fe's artistic use of southwest paintings for its calendars was William Haskell Simpson, who became ATSF's general advertising agent in 1900. His first goal was to enhance the company's image and promote tourism to the Southwest where Santa Fe's famed passenger trains roamed. His efforts can be described as monumental.

     Simpson searched for artists from the eastern United States to paint southwestern themed art, which would then be used in Santa Fe advertising. The artists were originally paid with trips to the Grand Canyon for the use of their work, however as more artists were utilized, it was decided the best plan of action would be to purchase the paintings, and avoid future conflicts with reproduction rights.

     With a plan in hand, the first painting purchased by Simpson was in 1903. The work of art depicted the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona, as painted by Bertha Menzler Dressler. Simpsons' zeal for this enterprise resulted in the Santa Fe Railway having acquired 108 paints by 1907. Most of this growing collection illustrated Southwestern landscapes, and portraits of Native Americans as they lived in Arizona and New Mexico.

     With World War II finally over, Santa Fe utilized its vast artistic holdings by placing examples on the menus which graced the dining cars of its famous streamliners. The menus were full color and provided a description of the particular work of art, as well as information on its artist.

     Although Simpson passed away in 1933, Santa Fe continued to purchase and commission original paintings depicting Southwestern art. In 1966, the collection was put on a nationwide tour, which went from the National Archives, Washington, D.C., to the New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts, located in Santa Fe, NM. Today, there are more than 600 paintings in the vast ATSF collection, which is one of the largest collections of Southwestern art in existence, and has been appraised as one of the finest. The collection is now owned by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, which utilizes the art throughout its corporate offices system wide.