Joseph Pennell (1857 - 1926) American
Title: Wrens City
Antique Etching
Unknown
Measure 11 3/4"in H x 8 1/4"in W No frame

Known for: Etching, illustration, painting and teaching
Biography: Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Joseph Pennell became best known for his illustrations and etchings, a process he began in the late 1870s. He completed over 1800 etchings and lithographs, executed mostly in Europe before 1917. His style was strongly influenced by James Whistler, and his technique was influenced by drawings of Charles Reinhardt. He also wrote and illustrated nearly a hundred books including a biography of Whistler. Pennell was the son of Philadelphia Quaker parents and briefly attended the School of Industrial Design, now the Philadelphia College of Art. Between 1878 and 1880, he studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia where his instructor, James Claghorn recognized and encouraged Pennell's etching talent. In 1881, he went to Europe to meet with William Dean Howells, American writer, about illustrating some of Howells' Italian writings. On this trip, he also made other connections that led to commissions in London and resulted in over 1800 etchings and lithographs. He destroyed most of these plates as well as those from future trips dating to 1917 to prevent their being copied and publicly distributed. From January 1882, he was in New Orleans for four months doing illustrations of Louisiana for Century Magazine and for a book by George Washington Cable, The Creoles of Louisiana (1885). From 1884 to 1917, Pennell lived primarily in Europe. There he made scenery prints in many parts of the Continent, working in a variety of graphic media. He also returned to America long enough to travel in the American West, and in 1912 and 1915, did scenes of San Francisco, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon, which along with twenty-three lithographs he did of the Panama Canal were purchased by the Italian government are in the Uffizi Gallery.

    Condition:
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by Coral Gables Auction
April 20, 2025 1:00 PM EDT
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